As the general American population’s health declines in tandem with the country’s rising heart disease and obesity epidemic, U.S. citizens are retiring later and dying sooner, Bloomberg reported this week—leaving them with post-work schedules full of hospital visits, checkups and prescription refills.
The age of retirement in the U.S. is rising, according to Bloomberg, “but lifespans aren’t necessarily extending to offer equal time on the beach.” The country’s age-adjusted mortality rate increased by 1.2 percent between 2014 and 2015, which is the biggest jump since 1980. As that rate rises, public policy and economic roadblocks are standing in the way of earlier retirement for Americans; retirees could claim their full Social Security benefits at age 65 in 2002, while that threshold is expected to reach 67 by 2027.
Nearly one in three Americans between 65 and 69 years old are still working, Bloomberg reported, and that’s true for almost a fifth of the population in their early 70s.
Higher rates of obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, and cardiovascular disease are all possible causes for this, according to the article.
Read the full Bloomberg story here:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.