Abstract: In this paper, three waves of Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used to investigate the relationship between retirement and cognitive decline and to explore the impact of delayed retirement on cognitive ability. The results suggest that retirement can inhibit cognitive decline in the short term, but has a negative effect on cognition in the long term. Specifically, retirement inhibit cognitive decline within 3 years after retirement, and the positive effects of retirement on cognition gradually turn negative about 3 to 4 years after retirement. The heterogeneity analysis by gender shows that the negative longterm effects of retirement on cognitive ability are more pronounced for men. The study reveals differences in the shortterm and longterm effects of retirement on cognitive ability. From the perspective of policy, appropriate postponement of the statutory retirement age can shorten the duration of retirement and have a positive effect on the inhibition of cognitive decline, that is, delaying retirement can bring cognitive “health dividend”.

Key words: retirement, cognitive ability, mental health, health dividend

摘要： 本文使用中国健康与养老追踪调查(CHARLS) 2011—2015年3轮调查数据，通过研究退休与认知衰退的关系，探讨了延迟退休对认知能力的影响。估计结果表明，退休在短期能够抑制认知衰退，但是从长期来看退休对认知有负面的影响。具体来说，在退休后3年内，退休对认知衰退有抑制作用，在退休大约3年~4年后，退休对认知的积极影响逐渐变为负面影响。按性别分组的估计结果表明，退休对认知能力的负面长期影响对男性而言更突出。本文的研究揭示了退休对认知能力的短期和长期影响存在差异。从政策的角度讲，适当提高法定退休年龄能够缩短退休持续时间，对抑制认知衰退有积极作用，即延迟退休能够带来认知方面的“健康红利”。

关键词: 退休, 认知能力, 心理健康, 健康红利