Why the Notion Persists That Retirement Harms Health

Although the research literature contains virtually nothing to encourage the notion that retirement is likely to harm the physical health of older workers, the idea persists that retirement increases the risk of illness and death. The vitality of this notion is in part due to the availability of vivid anecdotes, the tendency to interpret big events as major causes of illness, the cultural celebration of work, theoretical perspectives in gerontology fostering expectations that retirement is disruptive, and the misinterpretation of research findings.