A study of over 12,000 retirees found those who took on part-time or flexible work after leaving their careers, rather than stopping entirely, had significantly fewer major diseases, and those who stayed in their original field also reported better mental health

Retirement is usually pictured as a clean break, decades of work, then a full stop. Two studies looking at what actually happens to people's health around that transition suggest the clean break itself might be the problem, and that easing out rather than sto…