From Fox News:
Maria D. Fitzpatrick of Cornell University and Timothy J. Moore of the University of Melbourne said they analyzed the mortality rates in the U.S. and noticed that many older Americans – but disproportionally men who retire at 62 – are affected by sudden increased rates of death. ...
The numbers, according to the study, show that there is a two percent increase in male mortality at age 62 in the country. “Over the 34 years we studied, there were an additional 400 to 800 deaths per year beyond what we expected, or an additional 13,000 to 27,000 excess male deaths within 12 months of turning 62,” the professor said.
Many, many people apply for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 not because they really want to retire but because they're too sick to keep working. They don't think of applying for disability benefits or they prefer to avoid the hassles of applying for disability benefits.
The researcher blames the increased mortality on the retirement as retirees tend to withdraw from life and no longer see the point in engaging. ...
5 comments:
More bs to provide cover for the actions that lie ahead. It's better for everyone's health if nobody ever retires. What was the sign over one of the Nazi concentration camps? "Work will set you free," I believe. Mandatory government enforced work in "dormitories" similar to what the Chinese run would be more healthy for seniors than retiring for godsakes. Just make sure the nets around the building are in good repair to stop the jumpers!
Some means-tested benefit programs (including SSI) require that you file for early retirement even if you don't want to.
This is not news: a paper in 2001 saw this and said it might be due to the differing (and growing in difference) mortality rates for higher- and lower-educated people. https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/workingpapers/wp93.html
If someone's 62+, unable to work, and insured for DI, it makes perfect sense to apply for retirement benefits and DI simultaneously. If you get awarded DI, you'll get the full PIA amount going forward and a retroactive underpayment. If you get denied DI, you still have money to live on. If you die while your DI claim is being processed, at least you got something for all the FICA taxes you paid.
Although people who retire at 62 have higher mortality than late-retirers, there is a measurable decrease in suicide at age 62. This may be due to the fact that people who can get retirement benefits are less desperate or have more money for things like counseling. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/coep.12215/full
Or it may be that many take Social Security retirement at 62 because they are not as healthy as others and may not have as long to live.
There is a difference between correlation and causation.
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