The Spillover Effects of the Spouse’s Retirement on Depression: Evidence From Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adult Couples

Abstract Objectives The present study expands on previous research by examining whether the spouse’s retirement affects individual depression both directly, by the changes in individual health investment, and indirectly, through the social interaction effect of the couples’ depression. Methods Using the panel data from the 2010–2018 China Family Panel Studies, we investigate the direct and indirect spillover effects of the spouse’s retirement on depression among Chinese urban-worker couples (men aged 50–70, women aged 40–60; n = 10,466). To address the potential endogeneity and reflect the social interaction effect of the couples’ depression, we combine the Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity method with simultaneous equations. Results Overall, a spouse’s retirement would improve an individual’s depression, with the direct spillover dominating compared to the indirect spillover. Gender heterogeneity indicates that husbands’ depression is improved by wives’ retirement mainly because husbands might receive more healthcare and companionship provided by their retired wives, while wives’ depression is aggravated by husbands’ retirement because of the decline in household income and the lesser health investment. This difference is more evident when wives retire earlier and both spouses retire in the same year. With the spouse’s retirement years increasing, husbands’ depression improves and wives’ depression declines each year. Moreover, spouses’ depression is significantly interactive, and wives’ depression is more vulnerable to husbands’ depression. Discussion The results highlight that the health spillover effects of the spouse’s retirement need greater attention in future research and retirement reform.