Delaying retirement by working longer has some positive impact on life-span and health, but the effect varies by gender. Men who delay retirement reduce their mortality risk, but it is unclear as to whether the same is true for women.

The finding is based on an analysis of Dutch workers. The Doorwerkbonus, introduced in 2009, incentivized workers to postpone retirement. Workers became eligible for a scaled bonus based on their taxable income and how long they postponed retirement between the ages of 62 and 65. The Dutch data included information about income, employment status and dates of death, as well as prescription drug use. Combined, the data allowed researchers to assess how workers who postponed retirement fared relative to those who didn’t based on rolling five-year periods between 1999 and 2011.

There was a 32% reduction in average mortality risk among men who worked between the ages of 62 through 65 relative to those who didn’t work at the same age. Though this may seem large, it equates to an increased life-span of just three months. The study’s authors acknowledge the possibility of the increase in life expectancy being larger if the effect of delaying retirement was measured over a longer period than five years.

It was harder to identify an effect of delaying retirement for women. This may not mean there isn’t a benefit to working longer for women; the finding could simply be reflective of the smaller impact the Doorwerkbonus had on incentivizing women to work longer.

The findings on depression and diabetes were inconclusive. Men and women who worked were less likely to take anti-depressants, but the effect vanished when men who may not have worked because of depression was controlled for. An association between working longer and a reduction in diabetes risk was also found, but the data did not support a causal relationship.

Notably, the findings of previous studies are mixed. Some found working longer increases life-spans, while others haven’t. In other words, there so far isn’t a consensus on a beneficial health impact to delaying retirement.

Source: “How Does Delayed Retirement Affect Mortality And Health?,” by Alice Zulkarnain and Matthew S. Rutledge; Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, October 2018.