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Retiring at 55 Increases Death Risk in New Study
Researchers admit poor health may have been reason
for early retirement in first place
Oct. 21, 2005 A study published today indicates
men and women who retire early at age 55 have a significantly increased
risk of death as compared with those who retire at 65. In this research,
death was almost twice as likely in the first 10 years after retirement
at age 55 compared with those who continued working.
The study, published online by BMJ, was adjusted to
take into consideration factors such as sex and socioeconomic status.
Although some workers in the study retired at 55, because of failing
health, these results clearly show that early retirement is not
associated with increased survival, conclude the authors.
On the contrary, mortality improved with increasing
age at retirement for people from both high and low socioeconomic
groups.
The authors said there has been a widespread
perception that early retirement is associated with longer life
expectancy and later retirement is associated with early death. But no
consensus has been reached on the effect of early retirement on
survival.
Retiring early at 55 or 60 was not associated with
better survival than retiring at 65 in this study of past employees of
the petrochemical industry.
The study population consisted of all past
employees of Shell Oil in the United States who retired at 55, 60, or
65, and employees who were actively working at 55 or 60, during a period
of 31 years between 1 January 1973 and 31 December 2003.
In contrast to those who retired at 55, employees
who retired at 60 had similar survival to those who retired at 65.
Study Highlights
-
Subjects who retired early at 55 and who were
still alive at 65 had a significantly higher mortality than those
who retired at 65 (hazard ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.09
to 1.73).
-
Mortality was also significantly higher for
subjects in the first 10 years after retirement at 55 compared with
those who continued working (1.89, 1.58 to 2.27).
-
After adjustment, mortality was similar between
those who retired at 60 and those who retired at 65 (1.06, 0.92 to
1.22).
-
Mortality did not differ for the first five
years after retirement at 60 compared with continuing work at 60
(1.04, 0.82 to 1.31).
-
Regardless of socioeconomic status, employees
who retired at 55 had a higher risk of mortality than those who
retired at 60.
-
Employees who retired at 55 in the high
socioeconomic group had a 20% increase in risk of death (hazard
ratio 1.21, 0.88 to 1.67), whereas employees who retired at 55 in
the low socioeconomic group had nearly a 60% increase in risk (1.58,
1.15 to 2.18).
-
The study found no difference in mortality by
socioeconomic status in the group that retired at 60.
-
Women accounted for about 11% (10% among early
retirees and 12% among those retiring at 65) of the study population
during follow-up.
-
More than half of early retirees who reached 65
(57% who retired at 55 and 53% who retired at 60) were in the high
socioeconomic group whereas less than half (44%) of those who
retired at 65 were in this group.
-
For most of the follow-up period the survival
curves were similar for employees who retired at 60 and those who
retired at 65 (581 and 541 deaths).
-
The probability of survival for the group who
retired early at 60 was higher in the last eight years (after age
83).
-
The risk of dying was about 80% greater in men
than it was in women (1.83, 1.34 to 2.48) and retirees in the low
socioeconomic category had a higher mortality than retirees in the
high category (1.17, 1.01 to 1.36).
-
Mortality was lower among more recent retirees
(0.98, 0.97 to 1.00). Among employees who retired at 60, mortality
was similar to those who retired at 65 (hazard ratio 1.06, 0.92 to
1.22).
-
Men had a higher mortality than women (1.48,
1.16 to 1.89), and mortality was lower among more recent retirees
(0.97, 0.96 to 0.99). Mortality did not, however, differ
significantly by socioeconomic status (1.09, 0.97 to 1.23).
-
Regardless of socioeconomic status, employees
who retired at 55 had a higher risk of mortality than those who
retired at 60.
-
Employees who retired at 55 in the high
socioeconomic group had a 20% increase in risk of death (hazard
ratio 1.21, 0.88 to 1.67), whereas employees who retired at 55 in
the low socioeconomic group had nearly a 60% increase in risk (1.58,
1.15 to 2.18).
-
No difference was found in mortality by
socioeconomic status in the group that retired at 60.
-
The study could not assess directly the issue
of whether employees who retired at a younger age were in poorer
health than those who retired later as data were not available to
identify the type of retirement for each employee (for example,
retirement due to disability compared with normal retirement).
-
If early retirement before 65 is taken by some
workers because of failing health, however, mortality would be
expected to be higher early in retirement.
Click here to view full paper:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/october/retirement.pdf
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