The headline above sounds very much like an oxymoron, but the numbers show beyond a reasonable doubt that retired baby boomers who maintain at least a part-time work schedule are more likely to experience better mental and physical health, compared to folks who stop working entirely.

Researchers collected data from more than 12,000 retirees (between ages 51-61) who were surveyed multiple times over a six-year period for the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. As compared to folks who retired completely from the American workforce, patients who maintained part-time jobs or did temp work lessened their risks of eight diseases. Among them:

1. Cancer

2. Stroke

3. Diabetes

4. Lung disease

5. Hypertension

Those benefits stood up even after taking physical and mental health before retirement, financial status, age, education levels and gender into consideration. One caveat: Baby boomers who continued to work in their pre-retirement professions enjoyed better mental health than those who chose other jobs in other fields. In fact, retirees who endured more financial struggles than the rest often worked in different professions after retirement.

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 374-389, October 2009

Reuters October 22, 2009

healthfinder.gov October 16, 2009