Table 3.

Rates of Mortality Decline for Military Retirees, 1974–2004

	Average Annual Percentage Declines
Age	Officers	Enlisted	Δ	Std. Error
40–44	−4.5	−4.3	−0.3	2.2
45–49	−5.2	−3.2	−2.0*	0.9
50–54	−3.8	−3.2	−0.6	0.6
55–59	−4.1	−2.4	−1.7*	0.6
60–64	−3.1	−1.9	−1.1*	0.4
65–69	−2.7	−1.6	−1.1*	0.3
70–74	−1.9	−1.1	−0.8*	0.3
75–79	−1.3	−0.9	−0.3	0.4
80–84	−0.9	−0.3	−0.6	0.4
85+	−0.9	−0.1	−0.8	0.5

Notes: Mortality rates for military retirees are estimated using DMDC payroll data from 1974 and 2004. An asterisk denotes a statistically significant difference in the rate of mortality decline between retired officers and retired enlisted men. Standard errors are estimated through Monte Carlo techniques as described in the text.