On Monday, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope since the 15th century to announce he would abdicate the papacy. At age 85, he has reached an older age than many of his predecessors who died in the post. Robert Siegel talks with gerontologist Leo Cooney of Yale University about how living longer has influenced our working lives.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The question that Pope Benedict faced is not one that confronts all of us, should we stick with our job till death do us part. Popes, monarchs and federal judges all face that question, so do some people who are self-employed, and different people answer it differently. The pioneer heart surgeon, Michael DeBakey, famously practiced medicine until the day he died and he died a few months shy of his hundredth birthday.

On the other hand, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands recently announced that she will abdicate this year at age 75, after 33 years on the throne. Are 21st century 80 and 90-year-olds more fit than their ancestors to remain in positions of authority and responsibility? We're going to talk now with Dr. Leo Cooney, who's a professor of medicine at Yale University where he established the program in geriatrics. Welcome to the program.

LEO COONEY: Thank you.

SIEGEL: Are we indeed living longer, first of all, as a general impression?

COONEY: The striking figure to my mind was at 1950, the male had a five percent of chance, when he reached 50, of living to be 90. In 2003, that chance was 16 percent. Females' chance went from 9.6 to 28 percent. So if you reach the age of 50, you have a much higher chance of making it to 90 than you did 50 years ago.

SIEGEL: Obviously, people do different kinds of jobs. There are forms of physical labor that they're not as much in control of deciding. I'd like to continue being a miner till I'm 85, for example, might be a lot more difficult than I'd like to continue going to the office during that time.

COONEY: Probably the most important thing to remember is that despite the fact that things are better than they were 20 or 30 years ago, that the average 85-year-old in the United States has a high prevalence of disability and also a significant prevalence of dementia.

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