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Increased longevity from viewing retirement positively

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2012

DEEPAK C. LAKRA ,
REUBEN NG  and
BECCA R. LEVY
DEEPAK C. LAKRA
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
REUBEN NG
Affiliation:
Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
BECCA R. LEVY*
Affiliation:
Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Becca Levy, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, PO Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520–8034, USA. E-mail: Becca.levy@yale.edu
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Abstract

Studies of the relationship between retirement and subsequent health, including longevity, have produced mixed findings. One reason may be that these studies have not taken attitudes toward retirement into account. In the current study we examined whether attitudes toward retirement can impact longevity. The cohort consisted of 394 participants who were followed for 23 years. As predicted, participants with positive attitudes toward retirement at the start of the study lived significantly longer than those with negative attitudes toward retirement. The positive attitudes-toward-retirement group had a median survival advantage of 4.9 years. This survival advantage remained after controlling for relevant covariates, including age, functional health, socio-economic status, and whether employed or retired. Our findings suggest that psychological planning for retirement is as important as the more traditional forms of planning.

Keywords

attitudes toward retirementself-perceptionsretirementmortalitylongevity
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 32 , Issue 8 , November 2012 , pp. 1418 - 1427
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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