Many people who enjoy their work joke that they’ll never retire or that their spouses won’t let them. Now recent studies suggest that working longer may actually prolong life and improve health. A 1996-2007 study by professors at Harvard and the University of Wyoming showed that educated women between the ages of 45 and 85 lived longer, concluding that employment was a significant factor. A UK study showed that people who left work exhibited greater signs of depression and a self-assessed decline in health, while another study by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed decreased physical activity and social action in retirement can adversely affect health.
Does that mean people shouldn’t prepare for retirement? New wisdom says that people should try to become financially independent but many people will want to be able to continue to work in retirement with either diminished hours or in an entirely new role. For these types of retirees, planning can be different.
