Retirement Planning and Stress

I write in the book: “money creates a layer of protection.” And as we all know, when our protection is threatened, we become anxious. That anxiousness leads to stress, and, we all know that stress can lead to health problems.

Thomas Holmes worked in a tuberculosis clinic in Seattle during the fifties. While physicians have often documented the connection between health and certain mind body situations, Dr Holmes along with Richard Rahe created a table to find out just how much stress in a person’s life was directly related to the patient’s chances of recovery from illness.



While his research was considered by many to be rudimentary and even as some researchers questioned his methods, the link that was previously only thought to exist, was now measurable. Dr. Holmes had made a notable breakthrough. According to an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, “Although his peers did not necessarily agree with all of his conclusions, Holmes apparently did succeed in convincing them that his work was important.”




And while “inexact terminology and their inability to consider the fact that everyone responds differently to stressful situations” made the rating scales the target of criticism, the fact remains, no matter what you call it, life events or stressful occurrences, everyday life is fraught with problems that could have an effect on not only your daily financial decision making, but the long-term attempt at retirement planning.



Critics have also pointed out that their work asked patients to look back at their lives and pinpoint various details. This, according to the scientific community creates a retrospective analysis and is not considered the best form of scientific discovery.

In retirement planning, a look back can only afford you a glimpse of how your future may be. Granted, this retrospection can be stressful in and of itself. It can point out missteps and flaws of character that Benedict Carey of the New York Times called “regret with a dash of bitters”. Mr. Carey also refers to this looking back at what might have been a “corrosive exercise”.

But retirement planning needs to begin with a determination of where you are – and that is difficult without a look at how you got there.

SCORING FOR THE HOLMES-RAHE SOCIAL READJUSTMENT SCALE

Less than 150 life change units	=	30% chance of developing a stress-related illness
150 - 299 life change units	=	50% chance of illness
Over 300 life change units	=	80% chance of illness

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Life Events	Score
Death of spouse	100
Divorce	73
Marital separation from mate	65
Detention in jail, other institution	63
Death of a close family member	63
Major personal injury or illness	53
Marriage	50
Fired from work	47
Marital reconciliation	45
Retirement	45
Major change in the health or behavior of a family member	44
Pregnancy	40
Sexual difficulties	39
Gaining a new family member (e.g., through birth, adoption, oldster moving, etc.)	39
Major business re-adjustment (e.g., merger, reorganization, bankruptcy)	39
Major change in financial status	38
Death of close friend	37
Change to different line of work	36
Major change in the number of arguments with spouse	35
Taking out a mortgage or loan for a major purchase	31
Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan	30
Major change in responsibilities at work	29
Son or daughter leaving home (e.g., marriage, attending college)	29
Trouble with In-laws	29
Outstanding personal achievement	28
Spouse beginning or ceasing to work outside the home	26
Beginning or ceasing formal schooling	26
Major change in living conditions	25
Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, associations, etc.)	24
Trouble with boss	23
Major change in working hours or conditions	20
Change in residence	20
Change to a new school	20
Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation	19
Major change in church activities (a lot more or less than usual)	19
Major change in social activities (clubs, dancing, movies, visiting)	18
Taking out a mortgage or loan for a lesser purchase (e.g., for a car, TV, freezer, etc.)	17
Major change in sleeping habits	16
Major change in the number of family get-togethers	15
Major change in eating habits	15
Vacation	13
Christmas season	12
Minor violations of the law (e.g., traffic tickets, etc. )	11
TOTAL	_____