Get Rich, Live Longer
About has a bit on the relationship between wealth and longevity.
Research shows that people who make more money also live longer.
Here’s an example: In a study in Germany, researchers examined a national database that contained the data from all (5 million) retired German men over the age of 65 (as of 2003). What they looked for was data on deaths grouped by lifetime income, type of work and other variables. They grouped the men into five groups based on their income level. They showed that mortality for retired German men varies by 60% with life expectancy at age 65 ranging from 14.9 to 18.5 years. Former manual workers had a 35% higher risk of death than salaried workers (and those on public insurance had a 44% greater chance than those using private insurance). In the end, a retired manual worker on public insurance in the lowest income group is 3 times more likely die than a wealthier, privately insured former salaried worker.
