In the United States, a 101-year-old woman named Anne Angeletti has yet to retire and works six days a week, proving to be strong and vital in her golden years. She believes that working helps her to stay active and healthy, stating that if she were to retire, she would die. To her, age may just be a number.
Reported by WABC TV, Angeletti is still passionate about her work and commutes frequently to and from New York City for her family business, Curiosity Jewelers, located in Cresskill, New Jersey.
Despite being 101 years old, Angeletti still operates the jewelry store in partnership with her daughter and granddaughter, working diligently six days a week. She always cares for her customers and works hard, drawing from her early experiences of dropping out of school to work in a grocery store in Brooklyn before refrigerators were invented.
Her father used a horse-drawn cart to sell ice from door to door before refrigerators were common. After her husband joined World War II, Angeletti did not stay at home but instead rolled up her sleeves and worked at a navy shipyard as a waitress, forging a path that she has continued to follow until now.
Angeletti believes that the key to success is taking care of oneself. She emphasizes the importance of personal hygiene, nutrition, and self-care, advising that if you do not enjoy what you are doing, then change it – make the most of each day.
For Angeletti, the jewelry business has allowed her to fulfill her personal aspirations and continuously advance. She expresses happiness in her work every day, firmly believing that if she were to retire, she would pass away.
Similarly, in Monroeville, Alabama, George Jones, a centenarian born in 1923, also continues to work without stopping, penning columns for a local newspaper at the age of 101 in 2024, making him possibly the oldest working journalist in the United States, if not in any other country.
A study by researchers at Oregon State University in 2016 showed that delaying retirement by one year after the age of 65 could reduce the risk of death by 11% for healthy adults due to various reasons, even after considering factors like demographics, lifestyle, and health.
For adults who perceive themselves as unhealthy and choose to continue working, their lifespan could potentially extend, indicating that factors beyond health may impact post-retirement mortality rates. Researchers suggest that individuals who remain active and engaged may benefit from such involvement.