If Americans continue
to retire at age 63, a great many will risk income shortfalls especially at
older ages.
Because work directly increases
current income, Social Security benefits, retirement saving, and decreases the
length of retirement, a logical solution would be to increase the age of retirement.
But are Americans healthy enough to work longer?
Using the National Health
Interview Survey, this paper shows that healthy life expectancy increased by
about three years over 1970-2000 for the average 50-year old man.
This increase is largely
the result of men moving up the education ladder, with minimal increases within
educational groups. Moreover, major disparities in healthy life expectancy remain
between those in the bottom and top quartiles of the population.
And these disparities mean
that a vulnerable portion of the population – perhaps those who most need
to work longer – might not be able to extend their work lives.
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