What does this research mean for the field?

Spousal retirement has gender-differentiated effects on psychological well-being in Chinese households, where a wife's retirement increases a husband's life satisfaction, but a husband's retirement increases a still-employed wife's depressive symptoms due to shifts in household labor and consumption. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine the causal impact of spousal retirement on psychological well-being and evaluate how household resource and labor allocation mediate these effects.

September 14, 2026The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & PolicyOpen Access

Spousal Retirement, Mental Health, and Household Resource Allocation: Evidence from Married Couples in China

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To determine the causal impact of spousal retirement on psychological well-being and evaluate how household resource and labor allocation mediate these effects.
Analyzed longitudinal household data from the 2016–2020 China Family Panel Studies.
Used statutory retirement ages as instrumental variables within a two-stage least squares framework to estimate causal effects across various spousal retirement configurations.
Wives' retirement significantly increases husbands' life satisfaction, with both partners reporting higher marital satisfaction when jointly retired.
Husbands' retirement increases depressive symptoms among wives who remain employed; this negative association resolves once the wife also retires.
Mechanism evaluations identify gender-differentiated adjustments in domestic labor allocation and joint consumption patterns as key drivers.

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Implication

Quasi-experimental study reveals divergent mental health impacts of spousal retirement on married couples, indicating retirement functions as an interdependent family transition.

Cite This Study

SHU et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7b23b0926e14a848b09d2 https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2025-0398

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Implication

Quasi-experimental study reveals divergent mental health impacts of spousal retirement on married couples, indicating retirement functions as an interdependent family transition.

Spousal Retirement, Mental Health, and Household Resource Allocation: Evidence from Married Couples in China

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Spousal Retirement, Mental Health, and Household Resource Allocation: Evidence from Married Couples in China

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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