Certain female celebrities such as Courtney Cox Arquette, Madonna and perhaps most famously of all Demi Moore have been the envy of many women due to the fact they bagged themselves much younger husbands. However, new research puts a damper on their apparent good luck.

A study published in May 2010 in the journal “Demography” looked at data collected from over 2 million Danish couples. Statistics showed that women who married partners seven to nine years younger than themselves had an increased mortality rate of 20%.

The study, carried out by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, found that women who marry considerably older men also tend to have shorter lives. A big age gap either way from a woman’s point of view has a detrimental effect on her life expectancy.

A woman’s best choice of partner for a long life is someone of the same age or slightly older.

Men who marry younger women are a much better risk to a life insurance company

This is not the case for men since the research showed that the mortality risk of a man who marries a woman seven to nine years younger than himself is reduced on average by 11%, compared to marrying someone the same age.

“Health Selection” doesn’t work for women

Previously it was thought that it was beneficial for either partner to marry a younger spouse.  This idea known as “health selection” says that those selecting younger partners are generally healthier and have the potential to live longer than others, and that by matching up with someone younger this would increase the positive psychological and social effects which help in older age.

Why don’t women  benefit from their younger husbands

According to researcher Sven Drefahl, “One of the few possible explanations is that couples with younger husbands violate social norms and thus suffer from social sanctions.” It is also believed that the psychological and social benefits an older husband gets from a younger wife do not hold true the other way round – the husband is unlikely to have as many social contacts as a woman would and is less likely to match a woman in terms of the level of care he will offer his ageing wife.

The good news is that life insurance for married couples is cheaper overall

The bright side is that marriage raises life expectancy for both sexes compared with the unmarried, with women overall still outliving men by a few years. This makes them more of a positive investment for a life insurance company when it comes to taking out a life insurance policy.

photo credit: jenny downing

A recent study suggests that poverty contributes to decreased life expectancy. This makes a life insurance policy all the more vital to families with limited incomes.

It may not come as a complete surprise to be told that well-off people tend to live longer than poor; unemployment, poor diet, and lack of leisure time play a part in increasing stress and decreasing quality of life for low earners. What is startling however is just how big a life expectancy gap there may be between the two groups.

Income Inequality Results in a Life Expectancy Differences

Researchers at Statistics Canada recently attempted to analyze the effect  poverty vs. affluence or ‘income disparity’ has on life expectancy. The findings, based on data gathered in Canada, were published recently in the journal Health Reports and make for disquieting reading: Figures show that on average only 54% of men from the lowest income group (bottom 10%) have a life expectancy of 75 years of age, compared with 74% of top earners. For women, 69.4.% of the least well-off can be expected to reach the age of 75, as opposed to 84.4% of the wealthiest women.

(more…)