Why So Many Men Die at 62

This interesting article discusses a new study that found in the U.S. the death rate spikes at age 62. It spikes for both men and women, but there’s a higher spike for men. (Subscription probably is required.) Male mortality increases 2% at age 62. The researchers looked into the data and concluded that the spike is concentrated in the 10% of men who retire as they turn age 62. Here’s their bottom line:

What we find in the short-run are negative consequences. For example, many deaths come from traffic accidents. If you don’t go to work, you have more hours of the day to be driving around. Medical literature suggests when older men are more sedentary, they’re more likely to be at risk for infection. When they lose their jobs, they increase their smoking rate, linked to the types of deaths we see such as COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or respiratory illness.

People who retire at 62 are more likely to have worked as physical laborers. They could be retiring because they’re in poor health. More broadly, there could be negative consequences because this is a difficult time for people. There’s a lot of uncertainty. We know people get sick during periods of stress.