People With Money Live Longer

By Margarita Nahapetyan

A new study from Britain has disclosed that individuals with more money and a better education are less likely to suffer from depression and long-term ailments and have overall better health in old age, compared to those who are poorer and not-so-well-educated, who are more likely to develop serious illness and die earlier than their wealthy and well-qualified counterparts.

The study, carried out by the Economic and Social Research Council, the largest organization for funding research on social and economic issues in the United Kingdom, based its findings on a number of polls that involved more than 12,000 older people. Wealth, education and high socio-economic status are the keys to longer and healthier life, found a lead investigator of the study, Professor James Nazroo from the Department of Sociology at The University of Manchester and a team of colleagues at University College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The experts also found that the impact of wealth, education or high social figure on health is much greater than is commonly assumed, with inequality strongly noticeable among individuals in their 50s and 60s. People with lower socio-economic status were more likely to die earlier than their wealthier counterparts, and were more likely to experience depression and chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

It was revealed that early retirement is generally good for people's health and overall well-being unless it has been forced on them through redundancy or issues with health. Those individuals who had to retire early were found to generally have poorer mental health, compared to those who took routine retirement, who in turn have poorer mental health than those who have taken a voluntary retirement at an earlier time. Volunteer work, charity work or taking care of other people were found to boost the mental health and well-being of older individuals, making them feel more needed, appreciated and rewarded for their contribution.

Researchers also stressed out that with current state of economic crisis and recession, eroding pensions and growing demands of taxation, the findings of the new survey "will have implications for all of us". Increase in life expectancy and quality of life pose big challenges for public policy today. Among these is the need to respond to marked inequalities in economic position and life expectancy at older ages, Professor Nazroo said.

What is even more, in spite of the fact that people are all living longer, many among them now stop working before the statutory retirement age and a large proportion of these still have the potential to provide a positive input into society, the economy and their own well-being. "Our findings will help us understand how society can help people realize this potential," the scientist said.

The study was based on a detailed analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) using data collected between 2002 and 2007.