How Long Do Retired Public Employees Live?

Chief Investment Officer reports:

Teachers live the longest, with general public employees the next, and safety personnel come in last. That’s the result of a study by the Society of Actuaries, which created the first mortality tables that track the life expectancies of public pensioners.

After reviewing 46 million life-years and 580,000 deaths from 78 public plans and 35 public pension systems in the US between 2008 and 2013, the actuaries found that teachers have the longest life expectancy at age 87.7 in men, 90.03 for women. General employees live an average of 85.49 (male) and 88.48 (female), while safety professionals usually die at ages 85.27 (male) and 87.68 (female).

These numbers also mean larger pension obligations for teachers’ pension plan officials.

The society’s tables also noted that a higher income may link to lower mortality. According to the data, income beat job category as the top mortality factor.

Interesting. The average female teacher lives until 90 years old.