Americans in the workforce are having much longer careers, forcing the age of retirement to rise, according to a new study.
Data released from the Society of Actuaries and obtained by Bloomberg found, however, that health in the United States is on the decline and more people are forced to endure shorter, less active retirements.
From 2014 to 2015, mortality rates rose 1.2 per cent marking the first year-over-year increase in the number since 2005. It also marks the second time since 1980 that figure is over one.
Data released from the Society of Actuaries found that health in the United States is declining and more people are forced to endure shorter retirements (stock)
A recent spike can be seen from around 2015 showing that mortality rates are on a rise in the United States. From 2014 to 2015, mortality rates rose 1.2 per cent marking the first year-over-year increase in the number since 2005
But as life expectancy in the United States becomes more stagnant, millions of Americans in the workforce have caused the number that most retire and claim their Social Security checks to raise from 65 in 2002 to about 67 in 2027.
Additionally, approximately a third of all work-able Americans are still working between the ages of 65 to 69. This percentage drops to 20 per cent for folks in their early 70s.
According to a study done this month by journal Health Affairs, Americans in their late 50s are experiencing the same if not worse health ailments than people at those ages a decade to 15-years-ago.
Conducted by HwaJung Choi and Robert Schoeni, economist from the University of Michigan, the study looked at the ‘activity of daily living’ (ADL) of middle-age Americans to gauge their health.
Limitation of ADL jumped to 12.5 per cent for Americans in their late 50s and expecting retirement at 66 from 8.8 per cent for people retiring at 65.
Americans aged 58 to 60 – at a retirement age of 66 – rated their health as ‘poor’ or ‘fair’ in one out of every four people. A stat that was 2.6 lower for retirees at 65.
Conducted by economist HwaJung Choi and Robert Schoeni, the study looked at the ‘activity of daily living’ (ADL) of middle-age Americans to gauge their health
Limitation of ADL jumped to 12.5 per cent for Americans in their late 50s and expecting retirement at 66 from 8.8 per cent for people retiring at 65 (stock)
Researchers also found that cognitive skills were on the decline as 11 per cent of retirees at 66 already had some form of decline at age 58 to 60. That too is up from 9.5 per cent in the other age bracket.
The cause of American health decline is argued by economists who want to pinpoint the issue to obesity, alcohol abuse, drug overdose and suicide, among other reasons.
But for one group – pension plan companies – the health news yields positive results as they won’t have to give out checks to retirees as long.
The Society of Actuaries found that life expectancy for pensioners dropped 0.2 years since the last calculations. Pension plan obligations are potential expected to fall by 0.7 to one per cent.