Early Retirement = Death!

[HadEnuff]

The article (at least the part I can read without signing up) says: "A significant increase in mortality starts at 62, according to a new study. The escalation is much more dramatic for men than for women. And the fatal catalyst, the study’s authors believe, might be the availability of Social Security."

So really all the study is saying is that there's a spike in death rates (for this study) at age 62, for men. The "why" is just speculation. I guess they noticed that people can take SS at 62, so they decided that must be the cause.

Or...it could be those Senior Citizen Discounts...probably those free coffee refills and MickeyD's...

 

[NW-Bound]

OK, I was able to read the article as it is reposted on another Web site. See: Is Social Security to blame for so many men dying at 62? | Fox News.

The article is not as bad as it seems. What happens is that there's a 2% jump in male mortality at 62. And statistics also show that 10% of males retire when they reach 62.

“If you don’t go to work, you have more hours of the day to be driving around,” the professor said.

“Medical literature suggests when older men are more sedentary, they’re more likely to be at risk for infection. When they lose their jobs, they increase their smoking rate, linked to the types of deaths we see such as COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or respiratory illness.”

The author said she was not advising people to not retire, but rather to maintain their health. Who can argue with that?

 

[HadEnuff]

OK, I was able to read the article as it is reposted on another Web site. See: Is Social Security to blame for so many men dying at 62? | Fox News.

The article is not as bad as it seems. What happens is that there's a 2% jump in male mortality at 62. And statistics also show that 10% of males retire when they reach 62.

“If you don’t go to work, you have more hours of the day to be driving around,” the professor said.

“Medical literature suggests when older men are more sedentary, they’re more likely to be at risk for infection. When they lose their jobs, they increase their smoking rate, linked to the types of deaths we see such as COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or respiratory illness.”

The author said she was not advising people to not retire, but rather to maintain their health. Who can argue with that?

Ok then...more coffee please.

 

[NW-Bound]

I recently discovered that caffeine raises my blood pressure dramatically. So, I had to cut way back, even though I used to drink 3 cups a day. Now, I drink 1 or 2 cups a week.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, I was in a bit of a quandary, you see. I could have stayed in dentistry, (purported to have the highest suicide rate of all the professions), or retire.

I survived, against all odds, 40 years at the chair, so I thought I'd take on another challenge.
Damn the statistics! Full speed ahead!

If I survive 40 years of retirement I believe I'll take up freediving.

I didn't know having to look into people's mouth could drive one to such despondency. Could that be true?

So, I checked.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, compared to the general population,

1) Marine engineers are 1.89 times more likely to commit suicide
2) Physicians are 1.87 times more likely to commit suicide
3) Dentists are 1.67 times more likely to commit suicide
4) Veterinarians are 1.54 times more likely to commit suicide
5) Finance workers are 1.51 times more likely to commit suicide
6) Chiropractors are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than average
7) Supervisors of heavy construction equipment are 1.46 times more likely to commit suicide
8) Urban planners are 1.43 times more likely to commit suicide
9) Hand molders are 1.39 times more likely to commit suicide
10) Real estate sellers are 1.38 times more likely to commit suicide than average

What? Marine engineers? Urban planners? Hand molders? What's going on?

 

[HadEnuff]

I didn't know having to look into people's mouth could drive one to such despondency. Could that be true?

So, I checked.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, compared to the general population,

1) Marine engineers are 1.89 times more likely to commit suicide
2) Physicians are 1.87 times more likely to commit suicide
3) Dentists are 1.67 times more likely to commit suicide
4) Veterinarians are 1.54 times more likely to commit suicide
5) Finance workers are 1.51 times more likely to commit suicide
6) Chiropractors are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than average
7) Supervisors of heavy construction equipment are 1.46 times more likely to commit suicide
8) Urban planners are 1.43 times more likely to commit suicide
9) Hand molders are 1.39 times more likely to commit suicide
10) Real estate sellers are 1.38 times more likely to commit suicide than average

What? Marine engineers? Urban planners? Hand molders? What's going on?

I'm glad you looked that up. Seriously, I'll bet I've heard that 100 times or more, probably way more, ever since I first brought it up. Now, at last, I can refute it!

 

[HadEnuff]

True Story:
During my undergraduate years I took German Language. One day, while waiting for a class to begin a fellow student asked me, "Hey, you know we can't make any money speaking German, what are you going to do for a living?" I told him I was trying to get into dental school, and he came out with the usual response: "Oh, that's gross! You are going to spend your live mucking around in people's spit? You know dentists have the highest rate of suicide? etc etc etc on and on he went... Until I asked him what he was going to do.

"Oh, in my family we are all morticians. I'll be going to mortuary school in the fall."...Honest, I swear, that actually happened.

 

[vince]

I always question data mining articles like this. Might very well be that a man in poor health may chose to retire at 62, thus skewing the study.

 

[Amethyst]

So, just limit access to SS, and everyone will live longer?

T And the fatal catalyst, the study’s authors believe, might be the availability of Social Security."

.

 

[DEC-1982]

So, just limit access to SS, and everyone will live longer?

Or wait longer to take SS and increase your chances of living longer.

 

[badatmath]

Someone on my team retired last July at 69 - died Feb 1. So when was he supposed to retire again to still be here

 

[Amethyst]

A favorite co-worker recently died at 55, just as he was getting ready to retire. (And this was a LBYM champion, who lived like a monk and only spent money on a bicycle hobby). So he saved himself the chagrin of retiring early and having to face early death.

 

[scrabbler1]

Someone on my team retired last July at 69 - died Feb 1. So when was he supposed to retire again to still be here

A former coworker of mine retired in 2003 at age 59. He died in 2009 at age 65. At least he enjoyed 6 years of retirement.

 

[Big_Hitter]

most early retirements are health related; I don't disagree with the article at all

 

[audreyh1]

I always question data mining articles like this. Might very well be that a man in poor health may chose to retire at 62, thus skewing the study.

Exactly, because SS is finally available.

 

[Alan]

My grandfather knew exactly when he was going to die. The judge told him.

 

[Amethyst]

That actually was the case with my dad - arthritis drove him to retire at 62.

But he lived to be 87.

Exactly, because SS is finally available.

 

[NW-Bound]

The article talked about the observed small bump in mortality right at 62, when 10% of the males take early SS.

If people take SS early because of poor health, you don't expect them all to succumb that very first year of retirement. Surely some may live to 70, or 87 as Amethyst's father. It would be spread out.

The author's point was that perhaps some of the early retirees died because of their new freedom. Get drunk, stoned on MJ, got in car crash? Overdosed on drugs? That kind of things. They don't just blow dough. They blow their life away.

 

[harley]

Once again pot is getting a bad rap. When you see somebody driving badly, speeding and weaving, that's booze. When you see somebody driving slow in the right lane, that's pot. Hmmm...down here in FL we mostly have people driving slow in the left lane. I guess that's old age.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have never tried MJ, so do not know how I would drive under its influence. But I did drive inebriated, when I was young and stupid. I drove slow and in the right lane, and hoped a cop would not stop me. And my reaction time was lousy, I knew that I was accident prone.

 

[Scuba]

Our doctor said most people gain weight when they retire because they’re bored and they eat and drink too much to entertain themselves. I’ve been able to spend a lot more time exercising since retiring. I’ve also eaten more and had more wine than before, so I haven’t lost weight but I am in better shape and my health stats are the best they’ve ever been, except for weight.

 

[CaptTom]

If people take SS early because of poor health, you don't expect them all to succumb that very first year of retirement. Surely some may live to 70, or 87 as Amethyst's father. It would be spread out.

We're still not out of the woods on causation here. Suppose people who are likely to succumb in their 63nd year all take SS?

Interesting correlations are fun to speculate about. But it's still just speculation.

When you see somebody driving badly, speeding and weaving, that's booze. When you see somebody driving slow in the right lane, that's pot. Hmmm...down here in FL we mostly have people driving slow in the left lane. I guess that's old age.

LOL, I'm going to steal that joke!

(It's not just FL. They do that up here, too.)

 

[JoeWras]

I'm glad you looked that up. Seriously, I'll bet I've heard that 100 times or more, probably way more, ever since I first brought it up. Now, at last, I can refute it!

My last two dentists both ER'd around age 50. Both are still alive and well, one in his late 70s, the other 50s. Talked to them recently, all very happy and glad to have ER'd.

 

[aja8888]

I have never tried MJ, so do not know how I would drive under its influence. But I did drive inebriated, when I was young and stupid. I drove slow and in the right lane, and hoped a cop would not stop me. And my reaction time was lousy, I knew that I was accident prone.

You weren't drunk enough if you knew you were accident prone!

 

[braumeister]

My last two dentists both ER'd around age 50. Both are still alive and well, one in his late 70s, the other 50s. Talked to them recently, all very happy and glad to have ER'd.

Other side of the coin:
Our dentist has always loved his work (and he's really great at what he does). He was very lucky in that his daughter followed in his footsteps and took over the practice a few years ago. He is in his 70s and still enjoys dentistry so much (and the chance to help and coach his daughter) that he still comes in to work two or three days a week. We are incredibly lucky to have the pair of them (just them, nobody else in the practice).