cyclinfool

I ran across the data in the attached link many years ago, basicly if you don't retire early you will die early. In my company there are a lot of us with a traditionaly retirement and 20 to 30 years in the company. In my younger years I would watch older buys retire and then within a few years attending thier funeral. https://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/Inf...tireYoung.html
I certainly don't agree with the BS statements about your best creative years in this article but the retirement age vs life expectancy is interesting.

cranky old dude

Yes, unless you factor in the current status many of us face.
Declining wages, shrinking health care benefits at higher costs,
shrinking retirement benefits, higher inflation. For many of us
lower income (used to be midlle income) folks, retirement is a
treasure that our parents got to enjoy. Many of us will have to
work at least until age 65, and quite a few of us even longer.
Retail price of my brides meds is 20K per year and climbing.
Thank goodness for insurance. That's over two thirds of what my
retirement annuity would be. Of course, at 65 we get dumped into
Medicare...ouch! Still hoping for Hillery (or someone) to mend the
Health care system. Till then,Have Trek, will travel (back and forth to work).
If we don't retire...do we get to live forever?

OTH, if you're fortunate enough to be able to get out...by all means,retire
and live!!!!

Artkansas 

Retirement? What's that? I lost any hope of retirement in my marriage.

I estimate that I could retire for about 6 months right now.

Tom Bombadil

So this is the infamous study I've heard several references too.

The data is bogus. It has been proven to be extremely inaccurate.

I have a Masters in Statistics, have done some research on longevity data and have read studies debunking this, but have never run across the original article until now.

Tom Bombadil

Here is a link to a more robust, recent study

https://www.bupa.co.uk/health_informa...ringearly.html

I've seen some data which does suggest that people working in high stress or unenjoyable jobs into their 60s may well see a reduction in life expectancy. However the effect is nowhere near what is shown in the bogus study.

And the same studies indicate that if someone enjoys their job, then there is no detrimental effect to working longer.

Mojo Slim

Hey! I used this study to partially justify retiring at 57. Don't make me go back to work by telling me it's no good.

cyclinfool

The Boeing study included data from Boeing, Lockheed and AT&T - a mix of High tech and manufacturing jobs, the first time I think I saw this data was in the early 80's. The study you quote Tom appears only to involve workers from Shell Oil - a process industry company. Both studies may be accurate or both may be bogus because both cover a different population and as someone educated in statistics you certianly understand there can be many other confounding variables. Most studies of this type have a political agenda behind them, the Boeing study's agenda might be to pressure companies to make it easier for worker to retire early (union driven) and the Shell study may be driven by corporate and government interests (non-traditional pensions and delayed social security benefits). Unless you dig into the sponsors you really don't know how to look for bias in the results.

I actually don't believe the conclusions from either set of data, most of my research involves working with statistics and data analysis and I know from years of experience that you must be extremely careful on how you interpret the results of any of these types of surveys. But with that said I agree with Mojo - this is my justification for an early retirement - don't mess with my justifications!

BTW- The reason I started this thread was because I read cranky's response in another thread about being placed on a rediculous work schedule.

Ken Brown

Studies - Shmudies. I ain't going back to work no matter what they say.

Beverly

I left one of those high stress, unenjoyable jobs twelve years ago. At age 53 I wasn't quite ready for retirement so I took a similar but much less stressful job with another company. My plans have always been to work until 66, retire and find a part-time job I enjoy. My plans might be altered slightly since my company is now in the process of expanding the outsource program. Hopefully my job will be outsourced and I can leave here with a nice severance package

Retro Grouch 

I think that it's pretty simple minded to take one set of numbers (retirement age vs. age at death) and assume a causal factor.

In order to retire at 50 one has to have a pretty secure financial situation. I'd think that alone would be a much better predictor of age at death.

ang1sgt

I thought I would be ready for retirement before I turned 60. But some factors are out of my hands and the ones that I thought I controlled are changing. I did do the right thing and stuck it out with the National Guard and Active Duty for 24 years. At least I'll get something when I turn 60 and in the worst case can land up at an Old Soldier's home.

I need at least 7 more years where I am to get my full vested 100%. There are times that I wonder if it's worth it.

I'm glad I found my part-time job. I get treated well there, I Love the people and 99.9% of the customers and the job supports my Bicycle habit.

I look at both of my parents both into the 80's and doing okay. I look at my health at 51 and know I'm doing better than both of them at the same age. After my heart Attack scare 2 weeks ago, I know that my heart, lungs and other bits of me are doing very well thank you. It did scare the heck outta me though, but I have a good baseline for many things.

Can I have some EXTRA gravy on my Turkey please....

Chris

BluesDawg

Justification? I don't need no steenking justification. I'm shucking the corporate world as soon as I qualify for full retirement benefits, about 5 years from now. Even with my younger wife continuing to work and secure benefits, I probably will not be in a financial situation where I can do without some sort of additional income, but I can definitely find a way to live without the pressures and drudgery of the 9 to 5 world. I may work part time, I may start a business, I may job shop in my current industry, but I'll do it more on my terms.
I don't know if that will make me live longer, but I'm sure it will make me look forward more to waking up in the morning.

big john

This makes sense to me.
I've always hated work and felt is is the biggest waste of time. I'd retire tomorrow if there was any way to survive. Unfortunately, in my business, (car mechanic), there is no retirement benefit, or any other benefit except getting my car worked on for free, (by me).
Due to various bad decisions, a bad marriage, alcohol, and other blunders I have nothing. Maybe one of my wealthy 50+ friends will take me in?

George

+1000

Retro Grouch 

If you have a good driving record and a clean police record and if you can deal with the students, you can always drive a school bus. At about 1,200 hours per year, it's a pretty good 1/2 time job. They're always looking for drivers everywhere because the job can't be eliminated, it can't be outsourced off shore, and the illegals can't get certified. Um - after I turn 70 I'll have to retest for my license every year.

jm01

Yep...me too

I took a few years off when I hit 45, found a nice, lucrative consulting opportunity at 49, and retired for good a few weeks ago at 57

My poor wife, though, retired at 55, found that she couldn't transition as easily as I did, went back to a corporate position, planning to retire for good at 58...somehow, I'm not sure that I believe her.

So, I'm looking for a house in Collingwood, Ontario, at the ski hills and bike trails, scouting properties in Spain and Italy, and selling our place in Toronto...maybe the cottage as well, as the new house will be only 10km away, but its nice to be able to fish and canoe from the backyard.

This thread reminded me of a a retirement presentation we did at a company where I used to work in the 70's...we shook his hand, wished him all the best, packed up his stuff, sent him off at 3:00 PM...we found him dead in his car in the parking lot when we left at 5:00 PM

poor guy never really left

Vieja Cabra

I think either of the two surveys are, at best, speculative in their data.

Threads on retirement always baffle me and interest me at the same time.

Usually, no one defines what "retirement" is.

But these two surveys cited don't differentiate between the middle manager who wore a coat and tie and the guy who pounded the pavement and breathed the fumes of thread oil at the lathe. I wonder if mental health, habits, happiness have as much bearing on longevity as genetics.

In these and other 50+ threads I see people throw around the word "retirement" and then tell about how they're going to take another job. What that really means is they are going to quit their job, draw some benefits they have stacked up, and go on working.

Or, they seem to wear retirement as a "look-at-me" badge to tell others how they have "made it".

I hurt for the numerous people who hate their job. To do something day in and day out that you hate must be a horrible existence. We don't get do overs on the time we lose.

edzo

retirement is for wussy

I get bored in 2 weeks if I am not working for the man

I will work till I am dead. if I am lame and in bed and alive, I will get a computer
that reads eye movement and write code or music. gonna work till I die.

jm01

That's sad...you sound like Mrs. M

jm01

Yep, a friend of mine drives a school bus...3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon

He took the job because it was the only way he could stay sober during the day

BluesDawg

Thanks for the tip, but that sounds a little too confining a schedule for my desires. I see myself more as working for a few weeks or months to build up enough cash reserves to hop on a bike and travel for a while. I don't want to be as consciencious as I would want a school bus driver to be.

Retro Grouch 

Thank you for thinking that some of us might be consciencious.

Coyote!

>>> gonna work till I die

Yup. That was my line 'til I got hit upside the head by two Unambiguous Signals to Slow Down and Live Right*. Today, I'm out of it but still booked solid, but with REAL and meaningful activity of actual use to folks.

* - Bottom line, the message was, "Slow down or you'll be Going Home real soon. That "job" is All Smoke and Mirrors".

Tom Bombadil

While I only provided a link to one study, there have been several others, to which I don't have on-line links, which substantiate that there is only a minor correlation between the age of retirement and the age at death. The AARP has conducted a few of these studies. A number of universities have also.

If there was a link anywhere near what the Boeing "study" indicates, this would have been borne out in numerous other studies and be a very well known fact amongst groups that study aging, as well as insurance companies and investment / retirement planning companies.

There are a number of sub-correlations. That is, there are differences between occupations that had different stress levels, different exposure to toxic substances, etc. But in the end, using just the age of retirement is not a good predictor of one's age of death.

cgallagh

I have to go ten more years before I can retire with full benefits. I will be 64 (felice cumplianos a mi). I put 25% of my salary into my retirement accounts and have a company pension plan. Full retirement means medical coverage and as everyone knows that is a big one in retirement planning. In my profession, I can fall into some very nice consulting jobs after retirement to finance the traveling we want to do, without touching the principal. Unless some disease strikes me down out of the blue, I plan on staying healthy so as to enjoy my time off.