Retirement study raises further questions A new study reports data suggesting certain negative physical and mental impacts of retirement. The Parliamentary Information Office of the Parliamentary Yearbook looks at the study and some questions raised. A study published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in association with the charity Age Endeavour Fellowship has published data that suggests that retirement from work can have a negative effect on mental and physical health. The Institute of Economic Affairs has been for many years an important source of thinking on the political right. The study is entitled “Work Longer, Live Healthier: The Relationship Between Economic Activity, Health And Government Policy”. What the report suggests is that although there is a small “holiday effect” from retirement which sees immediate short-term health improvements, health gradually starts to deteriorate over the long term. The study gathered data from a string of surveys involving 7,000 to 9,000 people aged between 50 to 70 years across 11 European countries and described the following effects of retirement. • It reduced the likelihood of respondents describing their health as “very good” or “excellent” by 40% • It increased the probability of suffering clinical depression by approximately 40% • It increased the risk of having at least one physical condition by 60% • It increased the probability of taking a drug for such a condition by 60% Further disadvantages were described in relation to the length of time spent in retirement. Continued employment however was advantageous. For men and women, so the report contends, “there seem to exist longer-term health benefits of employment among older people”. An increase in longevity over the population as a whole produces more people at older age. This has raised economic concerns regarding how best to fund longer retirement relative to shorter working life, triggering debates about policy on state and private pension provision. There are concerns about the increasing financial “burden” from healthcare costs that accompanies this increase in life expectancy, although it is axiomatic that such concerns be measured and rigorously tested against relative economic surplus over time and assessed with regard to the true distribution and deployment of that surplus. Those who still find a problem after honest analysis of this kind often say that for many people the “only solution” may be to work for longer, but this brings problems regarding retraining and availability of work for the relevant age group. The IEA is a think tank which strongly advocates deregulation of markets, lower taxes and reduction in welfare spending. It has unsurprisingly, but controversially, used the study results to argue that if state retirement and pension ages were to be pushed up and barriers to older people obtaining work were removed, it would make people happier and healthier and help the economy. The report’s author Gabriel Sahglen noted that: “The policy implication is that impediments to continuing paid work in old age should be decreased.” The Editorial and Programme Director at the IEA Philip Booth criticised consecutive governments for failing to deal with what it called the “demographic time bomb”. Arguing that state pension ages should be raised, Mr Booth said: “The government should take firmer action here and also deregulate labour markets. Working longer will not only be an economic necessity, it also helps people to live healthier lives.” Care2 - the social network website founded by Randy Paynter in 1998 – notes that “the issue is drastically complicated by a set of factors that are not easily controlled for” and that it is far too simplistic to say that the study proves the assertion that working longer helps people to liver healthier lives, given the number of variables which need to be controlled for. It quotes the study itself which states that: “As such, an observed correlation between health and retirement says nothing about causation”. The conditions of present retirement may, for example, be an important factor. According to Care2, while the study offers no definitive proof that retirement is bad for a person’s health, “it does point to several reasons beyond economic factors as to why governments may wish to reconsider the data.” It acknowledges that there might be some benefit in people being able to choose to work longer, although increase of choice is the key factor. It believes there is a need for governments to look at the issue of state and pension ages and associated laws and to consider how best to ensure that fulfilling work lives can continue as long as possible. Website: parliamentaryyearbook.co.uk Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:00:06 +0000
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