Consider that in study after study: 1. Mortality is higher, 2. Dementia increases, and 3. Health declines in retirees compared to those who don’t. Dr. Richard W. Johnson wrote a terrific article in the April 22nd Wall Street Journal detailing this and more.
He is the director of the program on retirement policy at the Urban Institute, and can be reached at reports@wsj.com. People retire in part to avoid stress. But it turns out that mental stress keeps your mind strong in the same that physical stress keeps your body strong. And indeed people who don’t need to stay fit so that they work tend not to. Obesity, sedentary activity and alcohol consumption all go up when people retire.
And financially retirement is hard on people too. Retirees on fixed income tend to be short on money, whereas those who keep working, albeit fewer hours, have more income for their needs.
The whole idea of retirement has only been in existence a short time in historical terms. Through history farmers, tradespeople etc. kept working because they had to. It turns out they were probably better off because of it.
