Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining to a
person at a particular age and is based on a given set of age-specific
death rates, generally the mortality conditions existing in the period
mentioned. Life expectancy may be determined by race, sex, or other
characteristics using age-specific death rates for the population with
SOURCE: Health, United States
Life Expectancy at Age 65: 17.9 years
Males Life Expectancy at age 65: 16.3 years
Females Life Expectancy at age 65: 19.2 years
You may view life expectancy by other ages at the following link on
page 7, 9 and 11.
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 51, No. 3
National Center for Health Statistics
Healthy People 2010, Statistical Notes, Number 21 (August 2001)
Summary Measures of Population Health: Methods for Calculating Healthy
Michael T. Molla, Ph.D.; Diane K. Wagener, Ph.D.; and Jennifer H.
Summary measures of population health are statistics that combine
mortality and morbidity to represent overall population health in a
single numberin this report, health expectancy measures. This report
presents a comprehensive discussion of the methods for calculation and
methodologic issues related to the interpretation of healthy life
expectancy. These measures combine both mortality and morbidity using
an abridged life-table procedure.
Healthy Life expectancy for Males
6064 years 14.3 healthy life expectancy years
6569 years 11.4 healthy life expectancy years
Healthy Life expectancy for Females
6064 years 17 healthy life expectancy years
6569 years 13.8 healthy life expectancy years
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
The World Health Report 2001 provides healthy life expectancy by
country. Healthy life expectancy (HALE) is based on life expectancy
(LEX), but includes an adjustment for time spent in poor health.
United States: Healthy life expectancy (years)
Male at age 60 14.9 years
Female at age 60 16.6 years
Additional information that may interest you:
Summary Measures of Population Health: Addressing the First Goal of
2010, Improving Health Expectancy
Diane K. Wagener, Ph.D.; Michael T. Molla, Ph.D.; Eileen M. Crimmins,
Ph.D.; Elsie Pamuk, Ph.D.;and Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D.
Health expectancy is often interpreted as the number of years an
average person is expected to live in good health. Because populations
usually have less than good health, the number of expected healthy
years is less than expected life years.
Using age-specific mortality and activity limitation, the health
expectancy statistic (expected years free of activity limitation) can
be calculated utilizing life table
Source: National Center for Health Statistics
An abstract from a Morbidity and Mortality Report
Increases in life expectancy in the United States are accompanied by
concerns regarding the cumulative impact of chronic disease and
impairments on the prevalence of disability and the health status and
quality of life of the growing number of older adults (defined as
persons aged greater than or equal to 65 years). (..) This report
examines three dimensions of health status: sensory impairments,
activity limitations, and health-related quality of life among older
You made read the full report here:
Retirement is tough for cops. Their average life expectancy after
retirement is five years, according to '91 FBI statistics.
Psychotherapist and former police officer Albert Seng says a number of
cops go through a grief process in disconnecting from "a lifestyle
rather than a job." Once you're out of it, you're really out of it.
You're on the outside.
Longevity Vs. Retirement Age
Dr. Ephrem (Siao Chung) Cheng provided the important results in the
following table from an actuarial study of life span vs. age at
retirement. The study was based on the number of pension checks sent
to retirees of Boeing Aerospace.
Age at Retirement Average Age at Death
This indicates that for people retired at the age of 50, their
average life span is 86; whereas for people retired at the age of 65,
their average life span is only 66.8. An important conclusion from
this study is that for every year one works beyond age 55, one loses 2
years of life span on average.
Graph: Life expectancy by sex at age 65
Average retirement age of American men
Life expectancy tables
Expectation of life after retirement
Independent OR active
Life after retirement
Remaining years after 65 years of age
Average independent OR active life expectancy after retirement
disability free life expectancy
National Institute on Aging
American Association of Retired Persons
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Disability-free life expectancy
Life span vs. age at retirement
AGE OF RETIREMENT VS LENGTH OF LIFE
Disability-adjusted life expectancy of Americans at retirement
I hope this information helps you in your research. If anything is
unclear or if a link does not function, please let me know and I'll be
glad to offer further assistance.
Clarification of Answer by
08 Aug 2003 15:30 PDT
Factors Influencing Retirement: Principal Findings
Source: Urban Institute
The comparisons by health status in this study reveal that retirees
are in poorer health than workers of the same age and are more likely
to have a condition that limits or prevents work. In addition, the
findings suggest that workers in physically demanding jobs retire
earlier than those in less physically demanding jobs.
The reason given for labor force departure varies by age: the younger
a worker when leaving a job, the more likely it is that the departure
is involuntary, whether the result of job loss or poor health. Only
one-quarter of workers leaving a job between ages 55 and 61 retire
voluntarily, compared to over one-half of those leaving a job at or
after age 62.
Factors that are significantly related to retirement among men
include: being aged 61 to 64; having three or more functional
limitations; working in agriculture, mining, construction, or
transportation industries; working fewer than 20 hours per week;
having pension coverage; and having 13 or more years of education. For
women, these factors include being age 65, having three or more
functional limitations, and working in a physically demanding
occupation. Several factors are correlated with delayed retirement.
For instance, both men and women are much less likely to retire if
they have health insurance coverage from their employer. They are also
much less likely to retire if they have a spouse who is working.
Although retirees, especially early retirees, are in worse health
than workers, the majority of retirees are also in good health and do
not have any functional limitations or conditions that limit work. On
the other hand, a large minority do.
You may download the complete document here:
Anticipating Life in Retirement: Key Findings
Respondents generally anticipate being retired for many years. Most
of those who have not yet retired expect they will do so either some
time in their early 60s or sooner (43%) or their late 60s (30%). Among
those who are retired, the average age of retirement was 59. In fact,
41 percent of retired respondents say their retirement came earlier
than they had anticipated.
At the same time, more than three-quarters of all respondents believe
they are likely to live to at least age 75 (79%), and 4 in 10 say it
is at least somewhat likely they will live to age 85. One in four
believes they are likely to live to 90 (23%), while 15 percent expect
to live up to 95 years old. This means that a typical worker (with an
average age at retirement of 62) can expect to spend more than 20
years living in retirement. The typical retiree has already been
retired for an average of 12 years, and expects to live another 10 to
Abstract: Factors Affecting Retirement Mortality (FARM)
Factors Affecting Retirement Mortality (FARM)
Table of Summaries