Work is going to kill you!

Work is going to kill you!

We hear people all the time mention the guy who retired and died, so they perceive that working longer is better for life expectancy.  The opposite is true! When I saw the chart I’m providing here I was shocked, it reaffirmed my need to retire young, and develop a plan to make it happen.  Yes if I work longer I can have more money when I retire, but at what cost?  How do you put a value on time?  For each year you work over age 50, you lose another year of life and a year of life expectancy.  A retiree at age 50 can expect to live to 86 enjoying 36 relaxing years. A retiree at age 65 is expected to live shy of 67 years, enjoying a paltry 2 years in retirement.   

Retirement Age	Age at Death
49.9	86.0
51.2	85.3
52.5	84.6
53.8	83.9
55.1	83.2
56.4	82.5
57.2	81.4
58.3	80.0
59.2	78.5
60.1	74.5
61.0	74.5
62.1	71.8
63.1	69.3
64.1	67.9
65.2	66.8

(Source: “Actuarial study of life span vs. retirement age” by Ephrem Cheng)