Delaying retirement could be great for your health - NPR

[Trudie]

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/24/442923309/could-skipping-retirement-be-great-for-your-health?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150924

My view is that there is an association between good health and being able to work longer (if you want).

And also -- if retirement means that you go from being active to sitting in front of the TV all day and eating crap, then yes, you'll have health problems.

I'll take early retirement with an active lifestyle -- mind, body and spirit.

[FatCat]

People with health problems have a harder time holding a job. They are more likely to qualify for disability. Healthier people are able to work well into their golden years.

I hear this argument all the time against early retirement. If I retire early I'll get out of shape. I would say this depends highly on your job and your personality. My job requires obligatory butt sitting to take up about 9 hours of the day. I don't see how removing 9 hours of obligatory butt sitting is going to contribute to bad health. If I switch it to 9 hours of butt sitting in front of the TV instead of butt sitting at work, it should be the same for my health as being at work. But if I'm not at work I usually do things that are more active.

[mlejw6]

Ugh. This is a case of an okay article with a terrible title. They talk about working being beneficial for your health, especially as you age.

I guess in this day and age "working" means "working for an employer and a paycheck."

But, we Mustachians all know that working really means staying active and keeping your body and mind occupied with useful activities that you enjoy. You don't need to be a slave to your job to get those benefits.

[Abe]

Better title would be "retired elderly people are more likely to be sick than working elderly people". That's the only valid conclusion that can be reached from this type of study. No causation can be identified since it is a single timepoint and not randomized. Thanks NPR editors!

[slugline]

But the study does come with a big caveat. It couldn't determine whether working leads to good health or if it's good health that keeps people working.

So they see correlation . . . and that's it. It's just a point of curiosity until the scientists devise a study to glean cause-versus-effect.

[vern]

Hey, when you're making 300k a year working at NPR, why retire?!

[One Noisy Cat]

     All I know is I was hiking in the mountains,followed by a bike ride today and a year ago I was working on Saturdays (Sundays and Wednesdays were days off). I liked today a whole lot better, to put it mildly.
The cup of coffee with a sandwich and fruit for lunch really hit the spot.  Different strokes for different folks but I know which I prefer.

[zephyr911]

Oh my god, the comments. Did you know anyone who invests in stocks is a fraud, and only the 1% can ever retire? Wow.

[Daisy]

Sitting on my ass all day doesn't do any wonders for my health.

I'll take early retirement with enough time to sleep properly, eat properly, exercise properly, maintain social ties better for good mental health, time to help others for good spiritual health over sitting on my ass all day in my cube/commute any day.

[Marus]

I think the article makes a decent point.  Tons of Americans get a sense of identity, community and purpose from the work they do.  The retire at 65 and play golf model isn't really suited for a lot of people.

[zephyr911]

And a lot of people who retire with no sense of follow-on purpose die within short periods of time because they get bored and depressed and lose the will to live.

But the fact remains, corrolation != causation, and the research did not in any way establish what the headline suggested.

[Gimesalot]

I am going to leave this right here...

http://www.theonion.com/article/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leavi-37957

[zephyr911]

I am going to leave this right here...

http://www.theonion.com/article/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leavi-37957

Follow up in the "Epic FU Money Stories" thread? >.<