Does Working Longer Enhance Old Age?

Understanding the link between retirement and health is crucial for both improving people's wellbeing and
for designing optimal public policy around retirement. Yet, to date, the economics literature has been
inconclusive about whether retirement causes improvements or deterioration in health. The lack of
consensus is likely driven by differences in study design, population, and the age of workers and set of
health outcomes studied. In this paper, I explain and distill the literature, highlight patterns in the highestquality studies, and discuss the implications of the findings for longevity risk management and worker
and retiree health going forward.