Originally Posted by
Al R
ONS did quite a bit of work on this, and the AFPS15 discussion document claimed that in general, those who were commissioned into the Armed Forces tended to live a little longer than civilian counterparts. Those who were enlisted lived a slightly shorter life.
• A UK male who was aged 60 in 2010 would generally have a life expectancy of 86 years and a similar female would have a life expectancy of 88 years.
• A retired male Officer who was aged 60 in 2010 would have a life expectancy of 90 and a similar female would have a life expectancy of 92.
• A retired male Other Rank who was aged 60 in 2010 would have a life expectancy of 87 and a similar female would have a life expectancy of 90.
The morale of the story is clear. I should have enlisted for only a couple of years, got commissioned and then identified as female.
Al R beat me to it, but in a far more informative manner. Discussing this very thing last year with a chum in MB who had been talking to the Pensions lot and he said the same as Al, albeit with the extra caveat of Services thrown in. Retired RAF (officers) had the best chances for longevity with Army (ORs) in last with the RN bobbing around the middle. Probably obvious if you think about it really and assume that individuals actually make it to retirement.
In light of this discussion, when my Stn Cdr asked me what my career aspirations were a while back, told him to draw more in pension than I did in salary. He initially frowned, then you could see the cogs turn before he realised I might just be on to something. He still wouldn't let me put that and lottery winner down as aspirations on JPA though. No sense of humour some people 😁
But I do also wonder whether as hard as the military life can be sometimes it is also a lifestyle that leads to longevity? Relatively active, we are supposed to take care of ourselves - fitness tests, medicals etc and a bit of mental challenge trying to square circles, all the things that we read about as being good for warding off dementia, heart disease etc. Certainly a lot of my civilian family and friends of the same age but without the military lifestyle look far more harassed, haggard and overweight than I do.
Edited to add - the M/F question - does that also extend to associated Branches / Trades? I know a few Comms Engineers and ABMs and daughters seem to be the norm there too. My ex's father was a very senior Comms type, desperate for a son, over the years and tours he kept popping out daughters. Good for me at the time, but he did look harassed!!!