Working yourself out of an early grave

28 April 2016
| By Hope William-Smith |
image
image image
expand image

Those working past the age of 65 are set to live longer lives, while those who retire before that could be headed for an early grave, according to research by Oregon State University (OSU).

The research found healthy adults who retired after 65 had an 11 per cent lower risk of death from all causes, still taking health, demographic and lifestyle variables into account. Adults who termed themselves unhealthy were also found to live longer if they continued to work, showing that major contributors to mortality were not always health based.

The study's lead author, Chenkai Wu, noted "it may not apply to everybody, but work brings people a lot of economic and social benefits that could impact the length of their lives".

"Most research in this area has focused on the economic impacts of delaying retirement. I thought it might be good to look at the health impacts."

Wu and senior author Robert Stawski said research is needed to better understand the links between work and health, but the study would have a profound impact on understanding longevity of life and wellbeing.

"We see the relationship between work and longevity, but we don't know everything about people's lives, health and well-being after retirement that could be influencing their longevity," Stawski said.

"It's just the tip of the iceberg."

The data was collected over an 18 year period commencing in 1992 through the Healthy Retirement Study, a long-term study of American adults led by the University of Michigan.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

1 year 8 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year 9 months ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

1 year 9 months ago

Super funds have built on early financial year momentum, as growth funds deliver strong results driven by equities and resilient bonds....

16 minutes 55 seconds ago

The super fund has announced that Mark Rider will step down from his position of chief investment officer (CIO) after deciding to “semi-retire” from full-time work. ...

19 minutes 14 seconds ago

Rest has joined forces with alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital, co-investing in a real estate trust, with the aim of capitalising on systemic changes in debt fina...

1 hour 49 minutes ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND