Late Retirement is Good for Health: Study

A recent study has revealed that late retirement is good for health. People who retire at an older age have better health when compared to the people who retired at a comparatively younger age. The study involved subjects who were not retired and the ones who were retired. The study was conducted by following about 3,000 participants who said that their health would not impact their decision to retire.

The aim of the Late Retirement Study

The study was published in the international Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in the month of March. It was a longitudinal study that was aimed to find the relation between mortality and retirement age among unhealthy as well as healthy retirees.  The study also aimed to find out whether socio-demographic factors had an impact on the relation between mortality and retirement age. The study was done for more than 18 years.

The Result of the Study

The study revealed that the healthy retirees who were at least one year older at the time of retirement had 11% less risk of all-cause mortality. The study also divulged that the unhealthy retirees also had a lower risk of mortality when they chose to retire later. The results were independent of a wide range of socio-demographic, health and lifestyle cofounders. It must be added here that a cofounder is a third variable that may be responsible for the correlation between two separate variables.

The Conclusion

Researchers concluded that opting for early retirement may be a risk factor for mortality and the U.S. adults may enjoy a longer lifespan if they have a prolonged working life.

The Subjects

The subjects of the study were about 3,000 participants. About 2,000 of these participants were healthy and about 1,000 were unhealthy. The average follow-up period of the study was 16.9 years. After that duration, more than 12 percent healthy retirees had died. The percentage of unhealthy retirees who died during the same time span was more than 25%. The study only followed those participants who admitted that their health would have no impact on their decision to retire.

The Researchers

The researchers who conducted the study regarding late retirement were from Oregon State University. Psychologist Robert Stawski who was a key member of the team of researchers said that the nature of the work is not important. The people who stay active for a long time maintain mental, physical and social engagement and have a longer life.