Taking back control - Are we working ourselves to death?
Former engineer and American academic Sing Lin argues that working past the age of 55 will kill you more quickly. His conclusion is that for every year one works beyond age 55, one loses 2 years of life span on average.
In his paper Optimum Strategies for Creativity and Longevity published in 2002, Sing Lin quoted a study undertaken by Dr. Ephrem (Siao Chung) Cheng on the number of pension cheques sent to retirees of Boeing Aerospace.
Early retirees live longer
Cheng found that on average people who retired at the age of 55 would live until the age of 86. However, people who retired at the age of 65 would only live on average for a further 18 months!
Sing Lin argues in his paper that “hard-working late retirees probably put too much stress on their ageing body and mind… [so] developed various serious health problems that forced them to quit and retire. With such long-term, stress-induced, serious health problems, they die within two years after they retire. “On the other hand, people who take early retirements at the age of 55 tend to live well into their 80s and beyond”.
Early retirees are better prepared
Before you run to your boss and hand in your resignation, Sing Lin made several other observations as to why early retirees lived longer:
1) Earlier retirees are probably either wealthier or more able to plan and manage their lives, health and careers, so they can afford to retire early and comfortably.
2) These early retirees are not sitting around watching daisies grow; they continue doing some work and earning an income. The only difference is that they work on a part-time basis at a more leisurely pace so that they do not get stressed out.
3) They also have the luxury to choose work of real interest to them that they can enjoy doing.
This would suggest that it is retirement planning that actually leads to a longer and healthier lifestyle. If you have not made provision for retirement or you are not in a financial position to work fewer hours, then the combination of financial stress and work-related stress may well kill you early!
Finding your niche
Liberty financial adviser Phillip Kassel disagrees with some of the observations in the study. Firstly, one needs to consider the industry that was used in the study. Some industries will naturally have a higher level of burnout as the work is more stressful; not all professions will show the same longevity patterns.
“Mention is made that after retirement and irrespective of age, the ‘retirees’ do not actually retire totally from work but still continue doing some work,” says Kassel. He adds that many businesses are offering early retirement to remove the liability of a permanent employee; however, they offer the same work to the ex-employee on a contract basis who, although ‘retired’, is working as a consultant. “These numbers are not taken into account in this survey and therefore show a higher number of retirees at early ages than is actually the case”.
Kassel says one also needs to take self-employed people into consideration. Even if they have built up sufficient funds for retirement they often never actually retire but may cut their hours by taking on less work or hiring a manager.
Making practical decisions about retirement
While it may be good advice to encourage clients to aim for a retirement at the age of 55, this would require higher monthly premium contributions in most cases and is therefore an unrealistic goal for 94% of the working population. “Most people will have to continue to work in some form or another past the age of 55,” says Kassel. But this does not necessarily mean you have to work at a burn-out pace. Investing in a career that you enjoy may be the best investment you ever make.
It would seem the answer lies in working for longer but for fewer hours each day. It doesn’t require massive wealth creation but it does mean having a plan – not only a financial plan, but also a life plan. So meet with your financial adviser and plan for what you want your life to look like after the age of 55.
