Socioeconomic inequalities in ageing and transitions in later life. TRILL symposium.

Longevity increases and larger parts of the population, in particular those with higher socioeconomic status, survive to more advanced ages. The resulting diverging trends of longer lives and increased inequalities in age-at-death have prompted calls for more research on how processes of social stratification continue to operate into later life. This symposium is a joint effort by researchers from major research groups on ageing in four European countries (Norway, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands) and will address core aspects of social inequalities in ageing. In old age, individuals face major life transitions that typically constitute moments of vulnerability, such as work exit, declining mobility, onset of health problems and the loss of close family members. Yet, the timing and consequences of such transitions differ between socioeconomic groups and may therefore contribute to inequalities in ageing well. We start the symposium with mapping potentially vulnerable transitions in later life and showing how patterns of transitions vary across gender and socioeconomic position. The Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation study (NorLAG) provides the empirical basis for this analysis. Next, we provide a discussion of work exits as a core transition requiring complex adjustment processes and investment of resources that are unequally distributed in society. One of the questions we ask is to what extent does retirement increase pre-existing socio-economic differences? We then present long-term trajectories of self-rated health and physical working capacity during the retirement transition, and their association with work-related factors and social class. Here, the analyses are based on data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). Finally, we look at the unequal distribution of the onset or worsening of mental health disorders in old age across socioeconomic position. Based on data from four clinical and two population-based prospective cohort studies in the Netherlands, we present evidence on the importance of low income as a risk factor for late life mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and longstanding conditions such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The four presentations jointly discuss implications of transitions for social inequalities in ageing well and provide directions for future research within the field.