“In 1940, if you lived to age 65, you had a life expectancy of about 13.7 more years.”
In 1940 the life expectancy for a white male was 60.8 years.
I’m not sure where those two pieces of information meet.
“I’m not sure where those two pieces of information meet.”
By definition, the life expectancy of those reaching age 65 will be longer than the life expectancy of those at birth since the former excludes everyone who died before age 65. Thus, even if life expectancy at birth is only slightly more than 65 (as it was in 1940 and even 1950), those healthy enough to last until age 65 had more than a decade of life expectancy ahead of them.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf#026
“Retirement” is a relatively new concept ushered in during the 1940’s and 1950’s in the aftermath of Social Security. Until that point, many people had to work until they died since they lacked the savings to allow for retirement.
“In 1940 the life expectancy for a white male was 60.8 years.”
Simple...
The life expectancy for a white male was 60.8 years... meaning that at birth, an average white male would live to 60.8 years old. However, many died in infancy, childhood, adulthood, etc.
The key is that in 1940 if you actually managed to live to retirement age, you actually had a life expectancy of 13.7 MORE years. The same thing goes today. While the stated life expectancy may by 75 years, those people who live to be 65 actually have a life expectancy significantly over 75.
Similarly, the life expectancy of people who hit 100 this year is not 75... it is somewhat over 100. The sample has simply narrowed.
So those people who reached retirement age in 1940 had a life expectancy significantly larger than the population in general - they had already survived through many perils in life...