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Incidentally, life expectancy at 65 in multiple countries has been slowly creeping up over the past ~50 years, perhaps longer. Last I heard, nobody really had a

Incidentally, life expectancy at 65 in multiple countries has been slowly creeping up over the past ~50 years, perhaps longer. Last I heard, nobody really had a good explanation as to why.

ENGNR 8y ago
I like to think it's the slow death of the concept of retirement Work is purpose so long as it's engaging, and people with purpose do things to keep themselves going
- laumars 8y ago
  I'm yet to meet anyone retired who says "I wish I was still working". Quite the opposite in fact.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - alsetmusic 8y ago
    > I'm yet to meet anyone retired who says "I wish I was still working". Quite the opposite in fact. My brother and I both shared a fear that our father would waste away and die after retirement (he is extremely driven). It turned out that he “never has enough time” for all the projects he creates for himself post-retirement. He wrote a book, researches the family tree, travels, etc. It was surprising how much he wants, and finds ways to, remain active. I don’t think we were wrong to expect him to need an outlet. We simply did not anticipate that he would create his own.
- olliej 8y ago
  Also politicians continue to push back the official retirement age, and so people literally cannot afford to retire. Note of course that this retirement age is not the official retirement age for senators and congressonal reps in America. The oldest retirement age for senators in the US is 62. Alternatively anything over 50 if you’ve served more than 20 years. Or any time at all once you’ve worked 25 years. Of course they’ve also ensured retirement for them is retirement with full pay. I’d love to get to retire with full pay after 25 years.
toomanybeersies 8y ago
Improved medicine would probably be why. My grandfather lived for another 5 years than he probably would've without modern medicine. I don't know if they would've been able to operate on him in the 60's like they can in modern times.
- kakwa_ 8y ago
  Medicine, not that much actually, I think most of the progress we have seen comes from food security and the sanitary movement. With those 2 items, you can basically get to a life expectancy of 70 years in most places, then you add modern medicine, and you go up another 10 years or so.
danieltillett 8y ago
I think there are fewer people worn out by hard physical work. I look at how fast people who do hard physical work age compared to those of us who sit around in offices and it is scary.
8bitsrule 8y ago
I like to lay that largely on work environments. Physical labor and physical stress, long hours, wear and tear on body parts, more likelihood of disabling injuries & inflammation. Throw in better knowledge of good nutrition (less consumption of toxins) and the importance of exercise - inactivity is a slow killer. Finally, psychology ... more to live for, and the means to enjoy it.
notahacker 8y ago
Doesn't seem surprising really. 65+ people are vulnerable to a lot of the same diseases which used to kill off infants, so increased access to sanitation, basic medical care and antibiotics is going to do a lot in developing countries, whilst survival rates for people with cancers and other degenerative conditions, victims of strokes and heart attacks etc have improved enormously for those with access to increasingly effective treatment.

Incidentally, life expectancy at 65 in multiple countries has been slowly creeping up over the past ~50 years, perhaps longer. Last I heard, nobody really had a good explanation as to why.

ENGNR 8y ago

I like to think it's the slow death of the concept of retirement Work is purpose so long as it's engaging, and people with purpose do things to keep themselves going

laumars 8y ago
I'm yet to meet anyone retired who says "I wish I was still working". Quite the opposite in fact.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- alsetmusic 8y ago
  > I'm yet to meet anyone retired who says "I wish I was still working". Quite the opposite in fact. My brother and I both shared a fear that our father would waste away and die after retirement (he is extremely driven). It turned out that he “never has enough time” for all the projects he creates for himself post-retirement. He wrote a book, researches the family tree, travels, etc. It was surprising how much he wants, and finds ways to, remain active. I don’t think we were wrong to expect him to need an outlet. We simply did not anticipate that he would create his own.
olliej 8y ago
Also politicians continue to push back the official retirement age, and so people literally cannot afford to retire. Note of course that this retirement age is not the official retirement age for senators and congressonal reps in America. The oldest retirement age for senators in the US is 62. Alternatively anything over 50 if you’ve served more than 20 years. Or any time at all once you’ve worked 25 years. Of course they’ve also ensured retirement for them is retirement with full pay. I’d love to get to retire with full pay after 25 years.

toomanybeersies 8y ago

Improved medicine would probably be why. My grandfather lived for another 5 years than he probably would've without modern medicine. I don't know if they would've been able to operate on him in the 60's like they can in modern times.

kakwa_ 8y ago
Medicine, not that much actually, I think most of the progress we have seen comes from food security and the sanitary movement. With those 2 items, you can basically get to a life expectancy of 70 years in most places, then you add modern medicine, and you go up another 10 years or so.

danieltillett 8y ago

I think there are fewer people worn out by hard physical work. I look at how fast people who do hard physical work age compared to those of us who sit around in offices and it is scary.

8bitsrule 8y ago

I like to lay that largely on work environments. Physical labor and physical stress, long hours, wear and tear on body parts, more likelihood of disabling injuries & inflammation. Throw in better knowledge of good nutrition (less consumption of toxins) and the importance of exercise - inactivity is a slow killer. Finally, psychology ... more to live for, and the means to enjoy it.

notahacker 8y ago

Doesn't seem surprising really. 65+ people are vulnerable to a lot of the same diseases which used to kill off infants, so increased access to sanitation, basic medical care and antibiotics is going to do a lot in developing countries, whilst survival rates for people with cancers and other degenerative conditions, victims of strokes and heart attacks etc have improved enormously for those with access to increasingly effective treatment.