Health, well-being and lifestyles after retirement: critical insights from an overview of reviews

Abstract Background Retirement is a pivotal life event marked by changes in physical health, mental well-being, and health-related behaviours. Yet, evidence on its influence remains mixed, revealing both benefits and risks. Factors such as socioeconomic status (SES), job demands, and lifestyle patterns can all shift health trajectories during this transition. Methods We conducted an overview of recent systematic reviews examining retirement's associations with physical and mental health outcomes, as well as with lifestyle behaviours. We included high-quality longitudinal evidence where possible, evaluated methodological rigour, and qualitatively synthesised findings. Results Across studies, retirement often correlates with reduced work stress and opportunities for increased leisure-time physical activity, notably among higher SES groups. However, retirees with fewer resources may experience greater financial strain, heightened sedentary behaviour, and worsened mental health. Voluntary retirement tends to mitigate depressive symptoms, while involuntary retirement can exacerbate psychological distress. Findings on cognitive decline, cardiovascular risk, and mortality remain inconsistent, largely due to varied definitions of retirement, uneven follow-up periods, and potential reverse causality. Conclusions Retirement offers a strategic window to foster healthy ageing through interventions targeting physical activity, mental well-being, and social engagement, especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. Future research should standardise retirement definitions, apply robust longitudinal methods, and carefully address selection biases to clarify the retirement-health nexus. Such efforts will better inform policies aimed at supporting well-being in later life.