The uneven health returns to work among older adults in India’s informal economy

Abstract Work participation is one of the most significant productive activities for older adults, yet its implications for health and quality of life remains poorly understood in developing countries like India, where informal sector employment dominates. In this study, the association between being currently employed, a past worker or someone who has never entered labour market with key dimensions of healthy ageing: functional limitations, cognitive functioning, chronic conditions and depression among older adults in India is explored using data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, (LASI, Wave-1). The findings reveal that continued work engagement is associated with significantly lower chronic diseases, supporting the value of work engagement as a productive activity for physical health in later life. However, the benefits are unequally distributed among different health outcomes and socio-demographic groups. The functional health advantage of those engaged in work is male-specific, and among women, work is significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms relative to women who have never entered labour market. Interestingly, those who worked in the past but are currently not working showed the worst health profile across all health outcomes. These results challenge the assumption that work engagement uniformly promotes healthy ageing, and provides evidence from a developing country like India.