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By Brandi Kamper
For many officers, retirement planning centers on pension calculations, Deferred Retirement Option Plan meetings and figuring out when to turn in the badge. What often gets overlooked is the one factor that ultimately determines how retirement feels once the job is over: your health. You may be counting down the days to retirement, but the cumulative effects of your career do not expire when you leave the profession.
The final five years of a law enforcement career are often the most physically demanding and medically consequential. Officers are older, carrying decades of stress, exposure and injury, yet they are still working long hours, nights and running high-risk calls. At the same time, this period represents the last realistic window to identify and address health issues while income, insurance and access to care remain stable.
If you are about five years from retirement, this is what should be on your radar.
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Shift your medical mindset: From fit for duty to fit for longevity
Most police medical evaluations are designed to answer a single question: Can you work today?
Retirement requires a different lens that asks whether you will function well and live well for the next 20 to 30 years. Maintaining mobility and remaining healthy to enjoy your pension are the goals.
Many serious health conditions do not interfere with daily job performance until late in their course. High blood pressure, early heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, sleep disorders and joint degeneration can all progress quietly while an officer remains fully operational. They are called silent killers for a reason.
Cardiovascular risk increases, even when you feel fine
Law enforcement officers face cardiovascular disease as their leading cause of death. A 2025 population-based study found circulatory conditions were the leading cause of death among male law enforcement officers, with an age-standardized mortality rate of 100.7 per 100,000. Police officers exhibited a 71 percent increased risk of cerebro-cardiovascular diseases compared to other public officers. The risk during stressful duties is particularly striking. Sudden cardiac death was 34 to 69 times higher during restraints or altercations and 32 to 51 times higher during pursuits compared to routine duties.
Law enforcement officers often continue to perform at a high level while underlying cardiovascular risk steadily climbs. Blood pressure trends upward. Cholesterol worsens. Aerobic capacity declines, particularly in officers aged 40 to 59 who show significantly poorer performance in aerobic testing compared to younger officers. Sleep debt accumulates. The danger is timing. Heart attacks and strokes do not wait for retirement paperwork to be filed.
In the video below, Gordon Graham urges first responders to take control of their health, outlining why annual physicals, better nutrition and quality sleep are essential for catching potential health issues before they become serious.
Five years out is the window to identify true cardiovascular risk, address hypertension early, improve aerobic capacity while joints still tolerate training and take sleep and recovery seriously after years of shift work. Officers who wait until retirement to focus on heart health often do so only after a major medical event forces the issue.
Ask your provider about your atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk and about in-depth testing such as apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a) and coronary artery calcium scoring.
Current ACC and AHA guidelines identify elevated apolipoprotein B and lipoprotein(a) as risk-enhancing factors. Evidence also shows apolipoprotein B can identify individuals with substantially increased cardiovascular risk that is not apparent from LDL cholesterol alone. Coronary artery calcium scoring can help guide treatment decisions when risk is uncertain.
| RELATED: What first responders can do to lower their cardiovascular disease risks
Metabolic health often declines late in a career
Many officers notice a familiar pattern near the end of their career. Workouts stay the same, yet weight increases and lab values worsen. This is not a discipline problem. It is physiology.
Studies show that 20 to 31 percent of officers meet criteria for metabolic syndrome, with longitudinal data demonstrating increasing prevalence over time. Hypertension affects approximately 60 percent of both operational and non-operational police personnel, and insulin resistance markers are strongly predictive of both metabolic syndrome and hypertension in law enforcement.
Years of stress, disrupted sleep, hormonal changes and shift work alter how the body processes calories and insulin. Five years out is when metabolic health can still be meaningfully improved through targeted nutrition, strength training to preserve muscle mass, evaluation for sleep apnea and early intervention for insulin resistance or prediabetes. This is particularly important as officers aged 40 to 59 demonstrate significantly reduced lower-body power and abdominal strength compared to younger officers. Focus on getting morning sunlight to help regulate sleep hormones, losing visceral and overall fat, and keeping blood sugar and cholesterol levels under control.
Waiting until retirement often means trying to undo years of damage without the structure of a work routine.
| RELATED: The tactical diet: How to fuel your body and brain
Cancer screening matters more than ever
Among female officers, cancer is the leading cause of death. Police also face elevated risks for breast, thyroid and bladder cancers. Law enforcement officers have an overall excess cancer risk, with particularly elevated risks for prostate cancer, colon cancer and melanoma.
The final years of service are often when officers meet age-based screening thresholds, but screening only helps if it is completed and followed up.
Five years out is the time to ensure recommended screenings such as colonoscopy and mammography are up to date, abnormal results are addressed promptly and medical care accounts for occupational exposure rather than relying solely on general population guidelines. Early detection does not just save lives. It preserves retirement plans.
| RELATED: Facing cancer in uniform: A police officer’s fight for survival
Joint and spine problems do not retire when you do
Decades of duty belts, vehicle time, defensive tactics and repetitive strain take a toll. Many officers tolerate chronic pain because it remains manageable on the job. Retirement removes the adrenaline and structure that helped mask it.
Older officers in high-stress occupations show a significantly increased risk for chronic back pain associated with work stress. This phase of a career is ideal for addressing joint and spine issues before they become surgical, investing in strength and mobility that protect long-term function and treating nerve pain or instability early. Retirement should increase freedom of movement, not limit it.
| RELATED: The wake-up call that changed a responder’s health post-retirement
Mental and cognitive health are part of readiness
The transition out of policing is real, even for officers who feel prepared. Research shows elevated rates of depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation among active and retired first responders. In recent years, more officers have died by suicide than in the line of duty.
Depression, anxiety, sleep disruption and cognitive changes often surface after the structure of the job disappears. Perceived work stress in older officers is strongly associated with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms and burnout. Mental health disorders are also closely linked to suicidal ideation and planning among police.
Five years out is when officers benefit most from establishing mental health care proactively, addressing sleep disorders, reducing burnout and planning identity and purpose beyond the badge. Studies show that retirement preparation addressing psychological, activity-based and economic factors is strongly associated with life satisfaction, even among those retiring involuntarily.
| RELATED: The police wellness crisis: New research and recommendations
The bottom line
The officers who have dedicated their careers to protecting others deserve more than just a pension. They deserve the health and vitality to enjoy it.
As both a retired officer and a clinician, I have witnessed too many colleagues reach retirement only to find themselves limited by preventable health conditions, struggling with unaddressed mental health challenges or facing a difficult transition they never prepared for.
The final five years before retirement represent a critical window, not just to secure financial benefits, but to invest in the physical, metabolic, cardiovascular and mental health that will determine quality of life for the next two to three decades. Officers have earned the right to retire with dignity, energy and purpose. That means proactively addressing the silent killers that accumulate during a law enforcement career, establishing mental health support before the structure of the job disappears, and recognizing that true retirement security is measured not in pension calculations alone, but in the ability to fully live the life that comes after the badge.
The profession demands everything during active service, and retirement preparation demands the same level of commitment, because officers deserve to thrive in the years they have fought so hard to reach.
NEXT: The silence after the badge: A sergeant’s blunt truth about retirement
SourcesLockie RG, Dawes JJ, Kornhauser CL, Holmes RJ. Cross-sectional and retrospective cohort analysis of the effects of age on flexibility, strength endurance, lower-body power and aerobic fitness in law enforcement officers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2019.Gershon RR, Lin S, Li X. Work stress in aging police officers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2002.Jetelina KK, Molsberry RJ, Gonzalez JR, Beauchamp AM, Hall T. Prevalence of mental illness and mental health care use among police officers. JAMA Network Open. 2020.Noone J, O’Loughlin K, Kendig H. Australian baby boomers retiring early: Understanding the benefits of retirement preparation for involuntary and voluntary retirees. Journal of Aging Studies. 2013.James JB, Matz-Costa C, Smyer MA. Retirement security: It’s not just about the money. American Psychologist. 2016.
About the author
Brandi Kamper, MPAS, MCJ, PA-C, licensed paramedic, is a physician assistant and operations leader with Front Line Mobile Health. Kamper is an Army veteran, former police officer, and tactical paramedic who now specializes in preventive and occupational medicine for first responders. She works with law enforcement and fire departments nationwide to deliver comprehensive health screenings focused on the early detection of cardiovascular disease, cancer and suicide.
