Age of retirement has economical implications as we tend to live longer with the result that an increasing number of older inhabitants have to share limited economical resources. This is however not only an economical issue. It is also of interest to investigate health- and quality of life-related factors associated with age of retirement. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in mood, activity level, and cognition at the age of 66 years associated with leaving working life before the age of 60 years.