Work Longer, Live Healthier?
A recent article in a British journal says retirement can be harmful to one’s health, and continued work contributes to good health.
Their findings:
- Retirement decreases the likelihood of being in “very good” or “excellent” health by 40%
- Retirement increases the probability of suffering from clinical depression by about 40%
The article admits that determining cause can be difficult because retirement sometimes results from poor health. But new research leads the author to conclude that earlier retirement harms health, therefore later retirement might be a good social policy, leading to a healthier, happier population and reduced medical costs for the government (Medicare in this country).
Regardless of the age of retirement, it might be helpful to consider the negative changes brought by retirement and ways to address them:
- loss of social interaction: turn to new sources of social engagement, e.g., volunteering.
- reduced exercise and physical activity: switch to voluntary exercise
- reduced income: less income might lead to less confidence and security so develop a retirement plan to enable the lifestyle you want
- stress: working can be stressful, but for some people retirement poses a different kind of stress, e.g., loss of status or power, or no external structure for time and goals. Find activities in retirement that provide structure and meaning.
Retirement can bring about unwanted changes, but planning and deliberate decisions can overcome them.