Retirement: The Hidden Health Risk

In the year since the financial crisis hit, I've been struck how just about any retirement planning issue these days boils down to the same solution: Delay your retirement, and all will be good.

• Watched your 401(k) vaporize? Just plan to work a few years longer to replenish what was lost.
• Blindsided by a layoff and realizing your next job will come with a smaller paycheck? Just plan to work a few years longer to make up the difference.
• Oops, your home equity no longer has the luster of a golden nest egg? Just plan on working longer and you'll be okay.

(It occurs to me this could be a neat drinking game at the next confab of financial advisors; everyone has to do a shot when either "delay retirement" or "work longer" are uttered as solutions to whatever case study.)

By now, we all know the math behind the delayed-retirement strategy. But let's be honest: the cure sounds like punishment. Work longer? Really? Sigh. (Pass the tequila, por favor.)

But my mood lightened recently when I came across a new study that reports folks who keep working after retirement (no it's not an oxymoron; I will explain in a sec) stay healthier than folks who opt for cold-turkey 100 percent retirement.

The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association found that folks who checked out of their full-time career job and downshifted into a transitional bridge job "experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether." Bridge into a job in the same field as your career and your mental health will also benefit.

Work longer, fix your retirement stash, and...stay healthier. Nice.

Another new study also makes an important financial case for the health benefits of staying in the work force: Senior citizens who keep working spend less on health care. That's probably a function of being healthy enough to work, as well as still qualifying for some employee-provided medical benefits. Either way, the less you have to spend out of your own pocket on medical care, the better. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, we're all looking at six-figure tabs to cover the out-of-pocket health care costs (beyond what Medicare picks up ) in retirement.

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