Pensioners Who Die Soon after Retirement Can Be Discriminated from Survivors by Post-Retirement Activities

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Abstract
Questionnaires were read to the wives of 26 living pensioners and to the widows of 20 age-matched contemporaries who had died within 5 years of retirement. The two groups of men were healthy at retirement and had worked for comparable durations in similar areas of a local mining industry. Only post-retirement measures discriminated the groups. Pensioners who died after retirement demonstrated more decreased interaction with friends, hobby time, and travel activity relative to survivors' activities. A discriminant function containing seven variables correctly classified 98% of the cases. Death occurred sooner for those pensioners who decreased their activity after retirement relative to those who demonstrated no change in activity. The data indicate that compensatory increase in activity after retirement may attenuate the risk factors associated with this sudden shift in a major reinforcement schedule.

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