Retirement 'bad for health'

Retirement has a harmful impact on mental and physical health, a new study has revealed.

The study, which was conducted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in combination with the Age Endeavour Fellowship- a charity, suggested that retirement can result in a "drastic decline in health" in the medium and long term, the BBC reported.

According to IEA, the study found that people should work for a longer span for health and economic reasons.

The study compared retired people with those who had continued working post retirement age, and it took into account the possible confounding factors.

It was suggested that there is a small boost to health immediately after the retirement, but there is a significant decline in the longer term.

The research also found that retirement increases the chances of suffering from clinical depression by 40 percent, while a person is 60 percent more likely to suffer from a physical condition.

Though the effect is the same for men and women, the chances of becoming ill appear to increase with the length of time spent in retirement.