As I returned to work after a lovely couple of weeks’ holiday over in the USA it was hard to remind myself that work is truly good for us (and not only as a means to fund holidays abroad).
A report out on Wednesday by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Working longer, live healthier, points out that work is so good for us that retiring early is a bad idea. It points out the decreased chances of being in very good or excellent health and the increased chances of being depressed the longer you are retired.
Part of me was not hugely surprised by the research given that in 2010 the Marmot Review, Fair society healthy lives, also drew the strong link between being in work and being healthy both mentally and physically.
Clearly this link does not change as you get older.
But if we all keep working longer because it is so good for us, we need a proper rethink about our pension investment strategies.
As Hargreaves Lansdowns’ Tom McPhail tweeted on the back of the IEA research findings: “@PensionsMonkey I know what you’re thinking: that’ll play havoc with their pre-retirement lifestyling investment strategy. You’re right.”
All the more reason for each employee to truly understand how, not just when, they plan to retire a good decade or so before R-date.
Debi O’Donovan
Editor
Employee Benefits
Twitter: @DebiODonovan