Increasing employment in pre-retirement years slows cognitive decline

Dementia affects an estimated 6 million Americans. This column uses data from the Health and Retirement Study spanning 1996-2018 to assess the impact of employment before retirement on cognitive decline, which is a key precursor to dementia. The authors find that employment declines driven by local labour demand shocks are associated with cognitive decline of men ages 51-64, suggesting a role for work in slowing cognitive decline. Efforts to promote work at pre-retirement ages would not only reduce reliance on disability insurance and enhance retirement security, but would also promote healthy ageing by delaying cognitive decline.