Retiring later increases the risk of mortality, a probability that increases in the case of jobs with a higher stress load. According to a report by Fedea, delaying the retirement age increases the chances that a person may die before the age of 70.
These figures are released at a time when the retirement age in Spain is progressively being raised. For one more year of work, the risk of early mortality increases by 38% in highly physical or mentally demanding jobs.
“It is recommended to make the retirement age more flexible for workers with health problems or very stressful jobs,” explains Sergi Jiménez, researcher of the study (Fedea). A flexibility that he says can be achieved, for example, by reducing working hours in stages until retirement.
A measure that he stressed must be taken taking into account the personal circumstances of each worker. “Not making everyone do the same, because that creates inequality,” says Sergi Jiménez.
However, greater flexibility to retire earlier, for certain jobs, clashes with the incentives promoted by the Government to delay retirement. “If you want to continue working you must have a reward and that is what we do with incentives,” explains Elma Saiz, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
The other conclusion drawn by the study is that raising the retirement age not only reduces life expectancy, but also does not compensate economically with the tax gain for the pension system.
