The financial benefits of postponing retirement are straightforward. You can delay your social security payments and each year you delay may result up to an 8% annual increase in payments. You’ll have more years to save and more years for your savings to grow. And, you’ll now have fewer years that your savings will have to last (assuming a similar lifespan). For people who are a bit behind on their retirement savings, postponing retirement (if you can) works like financial magic.

But the biggest benefit of all is not financial. People that work longer experience lower levels of cognitive decline. That, in and of itself, seems like a pretty good reason to keep working.

This valuable benefit of postponing retirement recently was highlighted in a study in the September 2021 issue of SSM –Population Health*. Researchers found evidence of a strong relationship between postponing retirement and improved cognitive function. Furthermore, they found that “postponed retirement is beneficial to cognitive function for all genders, races/ethnicities, educational levels, and regardless of professional or non-professional occupational status.”

Their conclusion is that postponing retirement slows down the process of cognitive decline that occurs as we age. The study is NOT saying that if you postpone retirement, your cognitive abilities will actually increase.

This study is very personal to me and I will share a story about my mom, Mary Jane. She was widowed at age 59 when my father died suddenly of a heart attack. Throughout her life she had been a homemaker and worked a bit around the holidays to raise some extra money for Christmas. At that time, she seemed average both mentally and physically for a 59-year-old. Because she needed to generate some income, she established her career at age 60 and worked until she was 86.

When I tell people about this, they often say that it was too bad she needed to work and couldn’t enjoy her retirement years. But I usually tell them that it was wonderful that she worked. At age 86, she was mentally sharp and physically strong. She was probably in the top 5% (maybe even higher) for people her age both mentally and physically. She still played golf (walking, never a cart), did her own yardwork, and shoveled her own sidewalks, read books, and played bridge. At age 86!

Why did working help her so much? I think it was because she had a purpose every day to get up and get going, working increased her social interactions, it kept her physically active, and it stimulated her mind. Sure, she still relaxed in a comfy chair each night and watched some TV. But this was usually after a day of work and making a difference for her and others. Thanks, mom, for teaching me this lesson well before studies came out documenting this benefit.

Enjoy the Journey!

*“Does postponing retirement affect cognitive function?,” from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany. Its authors are Maarte Bijlsma, Angelo Lorenti, and Joe Mhairi Hale.