Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis and when illness strikes just as you finally retire

USA Today

19-05-2025

Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis and when illness strikes just as you finally retire
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Experts say Joe Biden's cancer no longer curable, but treatable
Former President Joe Biden's cancer cells are ranked with a "high Gleason score." Here's what that means for his treatment.
President Joe Biden's career came to an end in January after decades public service. On Sunday, May 18, a spokesperson for the former president, 82, has announced Biden has an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that spread to the bone.
Biden's diagnosis may have felt shocking to some, but it isn't a medical surprise, according to Jonathan Skinner, who studies the economics of health care at Dartmouth University. Skinner notes prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease in men, particularly for those around Biden's age.
Still, it's a story that feels somewhat familiar: A person finally retires after a life spent hard-at-work only to become sick.
What continues to puzzle experts is understanding the complex link between retirement and mortality for many Americans. Research in this area is conflicting. Skinner says retiring doesn't absolutely cause higher mortality, and no one should worry that retiring could lead to a cancer diagnosis. But evidence suggests retirement and health are interactive. And gender, existing health conditions and other demographic factors are heavily influential on these relations.
"There is not a lot of agreement over whether retirement is good or bad for your health," Skinner says. "As a consequence … if you're excited about retiring, that's probably a good sign for your health because anything that makes you happier and allows you more time to do the things you want is good for your health."
On the other hand, if leaving work fills you with existential dread, or there's a lack of social support to manage costs and maintain happiness without a paycheck, retirement may not be good choice for your wellness, he says.
Some past research indicated retirement was linked to higher mortality rates. A 2018 working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that male mortality rates increase by about 2% at age 62, the same age U.S. citizens can begin collecting Social Security and often exit full-time work. For women, mortality increases were smaller and less statistically significant, the researchers found.
But retiring earlier doesn't have an exact connection to mortality. A 2020 study by Dutch researchers found on-time retirement was associated with a higher risk of mortality. Stepping away from work earlier, meanwhile, couldn't be associated with mortality positively or negatively.
Plus, take the fact the median age of cancer diagnosis is 67 in America. A cohort of people is experiencing a higher risk of life-threatening diagnosis at the same time they're handing in resignation letters. That could be a lethal combination for many Americans.
And we can't forget about "involuntary retirement," Skinner says, when people have to leave work at a range of ages earlier than they want because of adverse health. For example, Biden was advised against running for another term because of his health.
"When people aren't feeling well … it's not the retirement that causes the bad health," Skinner says.
Meanwhile, some may say it's better for healthy people to stop working earlier to enjoy life before getting sick. For example, @bill_retired on TikTok insists retirees have more time for exercise schedules, managing healthy diets and maintaining regular doctors' visits, let alone managing disease.
"We get to manage our sickness on a much more proactive basis," he says in a video posted to his 56,000 followers. "We can manage our recovery at our own pace."
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And the relationship between retirement and mortality could also be explained by something called the "healthy worker effect": Those in good health tend to keep working while people with poor health conditions listen to their bodies as a sign to stop working. In effect, on-time retirements are often due to negative health issues, meaning these exits can lead to death sooner than later.
This comes into importance as Americans, especially women, are generally living longer, meaning they work into their senior years. But staying in the workforce longer may also be a matter of how our society feels, Skinner says. Some people may consider their life worthless if they're not working.
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Either way, Skinner advises trusting your gut on whether or not to cut the retirement cake: "If you are anxious to step back and retire, and you can afford to do so you, you should probably do so."