Retired but not Withdrawn: Does Retirement Induce Participation in Social Activities?

Being retired goes with more frequent participation in some social activities such as volunteering or going to a club. It also goes with an increase in the intensity of participation. To conclude about a causal effect of retirement we use the longitudinal SHARE data and an IV strategy. Indeed we find that retiring can be the occasion to engage in a new social activity. More precisely, retirement increases volunteering, club and even training activities. It has little effect on religious, political or community-related involvement. There is very little sign of endogeneity of retirement. Education level and health evolution play a crucial role in most countries. At a time of huge increase in the population of retirees it is important to access the value of their volunteering participation. A conservative estimate translates volunteering into an output of about 6% of the value of pensions for the retirees of our 10 European countries.