Involuntary retirement has negative effects on an individual’s health and satisfaction with life. However, it remains unknown whether the recent European policy shift from early retirement towards extending working lives has impacted retirement voluntariness.

This study examines how socio-demographic factors affect retirement voluntariness, which is classified as ‘involuntary’ (e.g. being laid off), ‘voluntary’ (e.g. wanting to spend more time with family) or ‘regular’ (e.g. reaching the state pension age). The analysis is based on SHARE data (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe), covers ten European countries and differentiates between two retirement cohorts (1994–2004 and 2005–2015) during which the policy shift took place.

At the individual level, we find that gender and socio-economic status correlate with retirement voluntariness. At the company level, the sector of employment and job tenure also show an association with retirement voluntariness. The results indicate that, between the two cohorts, the share of those who experience their retirement as ‘regular’ has increased, while the share with ‘involuntary’ retirement has decreased. However, these shifts differ by educational groups, with a stronger increase of voluntary retirement for those with high education, suggesting a rise in social inequalities in retirement-transitions, likely owing to an accumulation of (dis)advantages over the lifecourse.

Background: Depression is a common disorder in late life. As the elderly population continues to grow worldwide, depression is also likely to become an increasing health problem. The aim of this study was to examine changes in prevalence of depression in various age cohorts over an 11-year period.

Methods: This study involved two cross-sectional studies (HUNT 2 and HUNT 3) of all adult inhabitants of the Norwegian county of Nord-Trøndelag with an 11 year-interval between the two studies. The participants aged 45 years or above at HUNT 2 and with a valid depression rating at both HUNT 2 (baseline) and HUNT 3 (follow-up) (N = 16517), were included and divided into five-year age cohorts. Depression was measured by the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).

Results: A significant increase in depression was found in all age cohorts from 76 years at follow-up, with the greatest increase (9.6%) in the oldest age cohort (86–90 years at follow-up). The incidence of depression is increasing with age, with over 10% new cases in all age cohorts aged 81 years and above at follow-up. About 5% of the participants in all age cohorts reported depression at both measure points, and there is a decrease in recovery from depression from baseline to follow-up with increasing age.

Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of depression and a large number of new cases of depression in the oldest age cohorts.