The Connection Between Retiring(riˈtīriNG) Early and Living Longer

The Connection Between Retiring(riˈtīriNG) Early and Living Longer

Research shows a link, but it isn’t retirement(riˈtīrmənt) itself that leads to a longer life, but what you do in retirement.

By Austin(ˈôstən) Frakt

You may not need another reason to retire early, but I’ll give you one anyway: It could lengthen(ˈleNG(k)THən,ˈlen-) your life.

That’s the thrust(THrəst) from various(ˈve(ə)rēəs) research in recent years(yi(ə)r), and also from a 2017 study in the journal(ˈjərnl) Health Economics(ˌekəˈnämiks,ˌēkə-).

In that study, Hans Bloemen, Stefan Hochguertel and Jochem Zweerink — all economists from the Netherlands(ˈneT͟Hərlən(d)z) — looked at what happened when, in 2005, some Dutch(dəCH) civil(ˈsivəl) servants(ˈsərvənt) could temporarily(ˈtɛmpəˌrɛrəli) qualify(ˈkwäləˌfī) for early retirement.

Only those at least 55 years old and with at least 10 years of continuous service with contributions to the public sector(ˈsektər) pension fund were eligible(ˈeləjəbəl). Men responding to the early retirement offer were 2.6 percentage(pərˈsentij) points less likely to die over the next five years than those who did not retire early. (Too few women met the early retirement eligibility(ˈeləjəbəl) criteria(krīˈti(ə)rēə) to be included in the study.)

The Dutch study echoes(ˈekō) those from other countries. An analysis(əˈnaləsis) in the United States found about seven years of retirement can be as good for health as reducing the chance of getting a serious disease(diˈzēz) (like diabetes(-tis,ˌdīəˈbētēz) or heart conditions) by 20 percent. Positive health effects(iˈfekt) of retirement have also been found by studies using data from Israel(ˈizrēəl,ˈizˌrāl), England, Germany(ˈjərmənē) and other European(ˌyo͝orə-,ˌyərəˈpēən) countries.

That retirement promotes health and prolongs life isn’t obvious(ˈäbvēəs). After all, work provides income and, for some, health insurance(inˈSHo͝orəns) — both helpful for maintenance(ˈmānt(ə)nəns,ˈmāntn-əns) of well-being. It also can provide purpose and camaraderie(-ˈrad-,ˌkam-,ˌkäm(ə)ˈrädərē). Evidence(ˈevədəns) is mounting that loneliness(ˈlōnlēnis) and social isolation(ˌīsəˈlāSHən) are linked to illness(ˈilnis), cognitive(ˈkägnətiv) decline(diˈklīn) and death. One study(ˈstədē) of American(əˈmerikən) retirees(riˌtīˈrē) found them less likely to be lonely or depressed(diˈprest).

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/upshot/early-retirement-longevity-health-wellness.html