The study looked at the period 2007-2017 and concluded that men who retire at 65 can still expect to live 16.2 years without disability or infirmity. For women the figure is 16 years.
The gains in life expectancy with good health outweighed overall gains in general life expectancy, which increased by 1.3 years for men and 0.6 years for women over the same period, the Swiss Medical Weekly journal wrote on Tuesday.
Overall, men aged 65 can still expect to live 19.7 years, while women can expect 22.1 years.
Thus while women live longer than men overall, they are also on average in poor health for longer, a fact which the authors said mirrored the results of other studies previously done across the world.
As for the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, its impact on general life expectancy was temporary, they said. “However, the impact on life expectancy without disability could be stronger, not only because of the functional decline of those infected, but also as a result of the lockdown, during which older people were less physically and socially active and thus accumulated risk factors for disability,” the authors wrote.
They said however it was difficult to predict whether this trend would continue in the future, or whether some sort of stability will be reached.
For the study, the researchers analysed data from the Swiss Health Survey of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on the age- and gender-specific prevalence of mild and severe disability.
More
More
Thousands of retired Swiss seniors falling into poverty
This content was published on
While most senior citizens in Switzerland can comfortably make ends meet, one in five is living either below or close to the poverty line.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Geneva-based UN migration office cuts fifth of workforce
This content was published on
The UN's International Organisation for Migration HQ in Geneva is slashing 20% of its 1,000 staff due to the US aid freeze.
Switzerland budgets CHF 666m to rejoin EU research programmes
This content was published on
Rejoining European Union research programmes, such as Horizon Europe, will cost Switzerland an initial sum of CHF666 million.
This content was published on
The latest federal health survey of people 55 and older reveals that social factors such as education influence health into old age.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.