How To Live Longer

I have always enjoyed explaining to people the concept of getting two years for every additional year you work. For example, let’s say that you are trying to decide between retiring at age 65 or 66. Let’s also say that you are destined to die at age 85. By retiring at age 66, you are adding one more year of financial savings and reducing your financial need for retirement spending by a year as well.

A new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health seems to call into question my concept because of my destiny assumption. The study looked at the risk of dying for different age groups of Americans, and compared it to their retirement age. The researchers found that the likelihood of dying in any given year was 11% lower among people who delayed retirement for just one single year—from age 65 to age 66. By age 70, people who continued working experienced a 38% lower risk of dying than people of the same age who had retired at age 65. By age 72, the risk was 44% lower. These results seemed not to be affected by other variables, like gender, lifestyle, education, income and even occupation.

Why is working longer good for your health? The article suggested that when you continue working, even part-time, your normal age-related decline in physical and mental functioning happens more slowly. By working, you stay engaged in the complicated work-world, which keeps you sharp—and, apparently, alive.

While the study gives another good reason to delay retirement (whether you are prepared financially or not) I am not completely convinced that it negates my concept. What are your thoughts? Please send me an email!

-Marshall Rathmell-

*Some of the material above was prepared by Bob Veres’s “Inside Information”.