Working past age 65 could lead to longer life, while retiring early may be a risk factor for dying earlier, according to an Oregon State University study.
Researchers found that healthy adults who retired one year past age 65 had an 11 percent lower risk of death from all causes, even when taking into account demographics, lifestyle and health issues.
Poor health, one reason people retire early, can lead to earlier death, so researchers sought a way to mitigate this potential bias. They divided the group into those who indicated that health was a factor in their decision to retire – and healthy retirees, who indicated health was not a factor.
During the study period, about 12 percent of the healthy and 25.6 percent of the unhealthy retirees died. Healthy retirees who worked a year longer had an 11 percent lower risk of mortality, while unhealthy retirees who worked a year longer had a 9 percent lower mortality risk.