Media reports have suggested that people who have worked as security guards have an average life expectancy of 62 years. This is not correct and is based on a misunderstanding of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
Instead, this number reflects the average age of people who died aged 20 years and over and had their occupation recorded as security guard at the time of death. This includes not just working age people, but retirees as well. The occupation information is provided by an informant (usually a next of kin or similar) when the death certificate is completed. This means that this figure is an underestimate of deaths of all people who have had careers as security guards.
For example, someone could have worked as a security guard, retired and then died well into retirement – it is likely that this person would not have “security guard” recorded as their occupation on their death certificate so would not be included in the statistics published.
This means that the data the “average age at death” is based upon are skewed towards people of working age, which brings the average down to a younger age.
It should also be noted that life expectancy statistics are a very different calculation to mean age at death and the two should not be compared.