retirement and early death

Only just read this thread, and I must say in spite of serious question, the early comments by Jingle and Roses had me laughing out loud. Just my strange sense of humour! Made me feel happier

Some years ago I knew a number of people, all men, who died within a year of retirement. They all seemed to be men whose job had been the only focus in their lives, no hobbies, no outside interests, nothing. Once they retired their whole purpose for living was gone.

It happened several times in the company DH worked for and DH had an interesting conversation with another colleague who was nearing retirement and saw the link and was asking DH about his out of work interests (which are many and various)and how to develop some of his own.

I have also had a number of friends and acquaintances who have died before their 70th birthday, nearly all had longstanding health problems, or habits (smoking) that put them at risk of fatal illnesses.

Having now entered the realms of googling and statistics Alea, I also found this one
blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100021203/delay-retirement-and-live-longer-experts-say-but-dead-comedian-disagreed/

My head is beginning to spin!

Health and life expectancy have improved a lot since the 1980s
Doctors and dentists are notoriously unhealthy bunch janeainsworth compared to other professionals ( i believe) So we should not generalise from them. including high suicide rates (they know how to do the deed)
Teachers these days are in the privileged position that they can reduce their hours in the last few years of work, without reducing their pension (their final salary scheme based on highest earnings rather than final earnings.) That is probably the ideal.

So Petra how do explain the fact that retirement ages have in fact gone up and not down ??
By your argument the government wants us all to die young!!
Come to think of it . . . .

The 80's were 30- 40 years ago, and there have been significant improvements in the average life expectancy for men, although not to the same extent for women Smoking and drinking, alas, playing a part.!

"Lawyers, accountants and so on are a group [in the ONS * data] called 'higher managerial and professional'," says Grimshaw ( an actuary quoted in the article, and actuaries are the people who work out pensions, life insurance etc based on figures such as life expectancy). "They would have life expectancy of nearly 19 years for males at age 65. At the other end of the scale, you would have occupations such as labourers and cleaners, where life expectancy at 65 is nearer 15 years."
(* Office of National Statistics )

Read this soontobe and at least any advice you are tempted to give might have some foundation in fact rather than urban myth.

You could end up with no staff if you intend advising everyone to retire as early as they can, soontobe!

Ooh. Thank you. I didnt know that.
I will try and google it.

The figures are there ( all EU countries know it) that, the earlier you retire, the longer you will live. This study was done in the 80s when they were looking at lowering the retirement age.

*But we all know of many people who are reluctant to go to their doctor, but will listen to a group of people who they trust who are advising them

Well I think that is an appalling prospect*

Doesnt stop it being true though.

*Well I think that is an appalling prospect and for someone who on their own admission has no relevant qualifications, and I do not just mean in the professional sense, to give advice about retirement and health issues is downright irresponsible! You say;

I happen to be in a position where some people would somewhat, in a small way, listen to me. But I am unsure what advice exactly to give

That's easy then, DON'T!!!*

But we all do it every day dont we?
It is called every day conversation.
They do know that I am not a doctor!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18952037

A useful article albeit dating from 2012 since which time life expectancy figures have apparently improved.
I particularly like the paragraph early on which says that some statistics if repeated often enough can become regarded as truth even if they have no historical foundation.
If average life expectancy is now something like 80, how can we extrapolate a statistic that says average lif expectancy for those who retire at 60 is 18 years, but only 18 months for those who retire at 65? It doesn't add up, given that an awful lot of people do retire at that age because their pension (state or private) may not be payable at a lower age without losing value. According to actuarial calculations the last years before retirement can make the greatest difference to one's pension.
There is also a reference to certain professions towards the end of the article -well worth a minute or two of your time!

But we all know of many people who are reluctant to go to their doctor, but will listen to a group of people who they trust who are advising them

Well I think that is an appalling prospect and for someone who on their own admission has no relevant qualifications, and I do not just mean in the professional sense, to give advice about retirement and health issues is downright irresponsible! You say;

I happen to be in a position where some people would somewhat, in a small way, listen to me. But I am unsure what advice exactly to give

That's easy then, DON'T!!!

Alea I think GJ was referring to the same evidence as I was (doctors and dentists).
I didn't mean to scaremonger anyone ( is scaremonger a transitive verb I wonder? ) and I think such evidence is helpful to people in those profession, and may well be applicable to other occupations.
It was widely quoted at pre-retirement seminars and certainly informed my decision not to work full time after 60 and to try to reduce my stress levels in any way I could before retiring at 62.

I think many men have a more difficult problem in adjusting after retirement than women. Maybe not so much now, but in my Dad's time their jobs were a major part of their identities. So that could lead to mental stress, or depression.
He was a solicitor, and after a short time feeling bored went back to the office part-time.
Another reason why some may die soon after reitrement is having to live full time with their other half

Very true about the first part. And second too.
And I dont know how pensions work really, so I dont know how much that plays a part.

From what I can see, some people stay in their job even though it is stressful to them because

a.they think they can cope with anything that is thrown at them
b.they are very stubborn
c. dont like change
d. cant envisage what their own retirement would look like, so choose to carry on doing what they know
e.feel somewhat obligated to stay in post, when in reality, there are others who could probably do the job nearly as well

A lot of people aren't in a position to choose when to retire, though.

If someone enjoys their job so much that they stay on after their official retirement age then I'd have thought they'd be less likely to die early than someone who retired as soon as they could and is now living an unproductive and lonely life.

*I think it is scaremongering to quote statistics about life expectancies of 18 months after retiring at 65 or whatever, especially when so many people will not be eligible for their state pension before the age of 67!

Genes, nutrition, lifestyle, socio-economic background, and yes, dammit, LUCK play a far greater part. (Actually quite cross about generalisations, spurious patterns or prophecies of doom.
We will all die sometime, let's not agonise over additional contributory factors.*

I call it having something to work on, to yes, even decide to retire earlier if possible and prudent.

I dont have qualifications Alea. Definitely I dont.

But we all know of many people who are reluctant to go to their doctor, but will listen to a group of people who they trust who are advising them.

But it is general conversation with people too. More and more, amongst the people I know, the subject of retirement is coming up in general talk.
And we do all listen to people dont we? And remember much of what they say? Even if we dont always take their advice, or take it right away.

That was "lies, damn lies and statistics" ( clearly my iPad has never heard of this)

P S soontobe I can't see what possible qualification you could have to give advice on, what, exactly?

Statistics can prove or disprove anything (try listening to More or Less on Radio 4) Remember "Lies, damn list and statistics"??

I think it is scaremongering to quote statistics about life expectancies of 18 months after retiring at 65 or whatever, especially when so many people will not be eligible for their state pension before the age of 67!

Genes, nutrition, lifestyle, socio-economic background, and yes, dammit, LUCK play a far greater part. (Actually quite cross about generalisations, spurious patterns or prophecies of doom.
We will all die sometime, let's not agonise over additional contributory factors.

Bellanonna, I am not so much concerned for myself. Nor my husband particularly.
But I do know people, who other people are saying to me "watch out for him/her".

I happen to be in a position where some people would probably somewhat, in a small way, listen to me. But I am unsure what advice exactly to give.
That is partly because I am a few years younger than them. And partly because, although I think that it is probably sensible to cut down hours if a person can, leading up to retirement, I am unsure what the best advice is after someone has finished working.
Hence my dilemma and this thread.

Can I ask what your OH's profession was granjura?
You obviously dont have to answer.
You may have said on gransnet many times before, but I struggle to remember everyones' occupation on here, let alone their OH's.

I retired at 71. I'm still around and pursuing interests, involved with GC and being lazy whenever I want to. I survived a heart attack in 1999 which devastated me for quite a while. I'm careful, but not overly so, and just try to enjoy life. DH has multiple health problems but we only focus on them when we have to. The biggest age related advantage I think is the freedom pass. I use it a lot for going to London but prefer to drive locally. We are so lucky to have this perk. Those of us who can take advantage of it. I know many live in rural areas with limited transport. So far I've never been offered a seat on the train, but I can cope with that. We get pub meal deals and top price theatre tickets greatly reduced. In tandem with the benefits, I know, go the painful knees, shoulders, and today in my case really bad neck but I still did my Pilates class and hope that'll keep me mobile a bit longer.
Soontobe, what you are seeing is just a coincidence. There are probably people in your area enjoying longevity too. Don't worry about perceived patterns or statistics, just enjoy life.