Maybe your uncle had a heart attack as soon as he retired. Or your newly-retired friends feel depressed and lost without structure to their day. A cheerful article in Harvard Health News arguing that working longer provides mental stimulation and staves off chronic disease may have led you to believe that retirement killed your uncle or is making your friends bored.
But the health effects of retirement and working longer are complicated. On balance, voluntary retirement is mostly associated with greater health, control, and well-being. When older people are pushed in to retirement, though, the health effects are negative and over 50% of retirees are forced out involuntarily. For many people over 55 and 65, conditions of work and unemployment are harsh and can hasten death and morbidity.
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