Findings from a UC San Francisco survey of older Californians ages 45-70, show one in five retired early (before age 50) and almost half of those early retirees left their jobs for health reasons.
UCSF researchers also found that Californians who retired early are more likely to experience fair or poor health and are two and a half times more likely to live in poverty than those who retired after age 50.
"For boomers who are retiring early, lack of health coverage until age 65 when they become eligible for Medicare, is a major concern and a public policy issue that needs to be addressed at state and national levels," said Dorothy Rice, ScD, professor emeritus, UCSF Institute for Health and Aging and principal investigator of the survey.
The survey, a supplement of the 1999 California Work and Health Survey (CWHS) examined work, health, and retirement issues of 972 older Californians ages 45-70. Irene Yen, PhD, MPH, epidemiologist in the UCSF Institute for Health and Aging, served as the project director. The survey was administered May 1-July 9, 1999.
Survey findings of older Californians show:
Comparing older Californians ages 45-70 to those over age 70.
The California Work and Health Survey is funded by a grant from The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) through its Work and Health Initiative. TCWF is an independent, private foundation established in 1992. The Foundation's mission is to improve the health of the people of California by providing grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.