Does retirement affect voluntary work provision? Evidence from England, Ireland and the U.S.

Voluntary work is an important contribution for many non-profit organizations, such as
charities, political and religious organizations. Older individuals make up a sizable share of the
volunteer workforce, and volunteering is often regarded as an example of “active ageing”. In
this study, we examine whether retirement has a causal effect on the frequency of voluntary
work provision in three English-speaking countries – England, Ireland and the U.S. We draw
on data from the ELSA, TILDA and HRS studies and employ a harmonised approach in the
empirical analysis. We use eligibility ages for old age pensions in an instrumental variable
estimation to address potential confounding. We find that retirement increases the frequency
of voluntary work provision in all three countries, especially among men. This suggests that
labour market policies aimed at increasing labour force participation at older ages might have
unintended consequences for the size of the volunteer workforce.