Retirement 'harmful to health', study says

     英国经济事务研究所最近的一项研究发现，退休会对心理和身体健康产生不利影响；从中长期来看，退休会导致“健康状况明显下降”。该研究所指出，出于对健康和经济方面的考虑，人们都应该延长工作时间。而英国政府目前正在计划推迟领取退休金的年龄。该研究所项目主管菲利普表示，政府应该进一步放开对劳动力市场的管理，允许人们工作更长时间。与经济事务研究所共同进行此项研究的老年勤奋社团主席则表示，未来应取消“正常”退休年龄；雇主们应该考虑如何开发老年人群的潜力，而希望退休的人则应该想清楚这是不是最好的选择。研究显示，退休后患抑郁症的几率会增加4成，而身体患病的几率则会增加6成。

     Retirement has a detrimental impact on mental and physical health, a new study has found.

     Retirement has a detrimental impact on mental and physical health, a new study has found.

     The study, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a think tank, found that retirement results in a "drastic decline in health" in the medium and long term.

     The IEA said the study suggests people should work for longer for health as well as economic reasons.

     The government already plans to raise the state pension age.

     The study, which was published in conjunction with the Age Endeavour Fellowship, a charity, compared retired people with those who had continued working past retirement age, and took into account possible confounding factors.

     Philip Booth, program director at the IEA, said the government should go further to deregulate labor markets and allow people to work for longer.

     "Working longer will not only be an economic necessity, it also helps people live healthier lives," he said.

     Edward Datnow, chairman of the Age Endeavour Fellowship, said: "There should be no 'normal' retirement age in future.

     "More employers need to consider how they will capitalize on Britain's untapped grey potential and those seeking to retire should think very hard about whether it is their best option."

     The study suggests there is a small boost to health immediately after retirement, before a significant decline in the longer term.

Retirement is found to increase the chances of suffering from clinical depression by 40%, while you are 60% more likely to suffer from a physical condition.

The effect is the same for men and women, while the chances of becoming ill appear to increase with the length of time spent in retirement.

     (Source: BBC News)