Published on October 20, 2009 at 11:37 PM
A new study suggests that working full-time or part-time during retirement may be beneficial to your health,
The New York Times reports. "Researchers from the University of Maryland found that men and women who kept working after retirement had fewer major diseases or disabilities than those who quit work, according to the study published this month in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Retirees benefited whether the work was a full- or part-time job, self-employment or temporary."
"Doctors have long known that staying active during the older years is associated with better health. But the question is whether working keeps older people healthy, or whether the people who continue working are able to do so because they were healthier to start with. But the new study controlled for health before retirement and found that post-retirement work had a distinct effect on health. … Among those who kept working, the retirees who found work related to their previous careers had the best mental health" (Parker-Pope, 10/19).