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Life expectancy in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, after a few years of flagging. Add to that the frightening number of Americans who underestimate the average life expectancy. Then roll in what the U.S. Census says that 2030 will mark a tipping point at which older Americans will outnumber children and 1 in 5 people will be retirement age.

This recipe of numbers may present an opportunity for well-positioned marketers and entrepreneurs, but most importantly, it should serve as a wake-up call for people whose nest eggs might not be in the best shape. The takeaway for most Americans who are lucky enough to be able to save and invest is to ensure life expectancy is a facet of your financial and retirement planning and that it is accurate or even a bit overestimated. And in the case of aspects of your nest egg for which you personally dont determine life expectancy, find out what life-expectancy figure is used and how it was determined.

Behind The Slow Rise

In a wealthy and industrialized nation like the U.S., you might be surprised that life expectancy does not just steadily rise. But when you look at the big-picture numbers, youll see things like the opioid epidemic dinging life expectancy. The early 1990s even saw an actual decline in life expectancy in the U.S. due to the AIDS epidemic.

Bringing it home to a personal level, you of course might be part of a larger trend, but should more likely be focused on family health history and lifestyle factors when asking, Just how long will I probably live? For the most part, your genetics and family health are what they are, but you can affect changes in your health and longevity when it comes to lifestyle.

There are plenty of resources out there to help you assess and improve the factors you can. Apart from that, be prepared to take a clear-eyed look at your likely life expectancy and plan accordingly.

Estimating Expectancy

So, what are the right age expectancy numbers to work with? U.S. life expectancy (at birth) is 78.7. At age 65, a man can expect to live to 84 and a woman to 86.5. Again, there are many individual and environmental factors in play, but this gives you a ballpark idea of the real averages.

Retirement and financial planning sites tend to use life expectancy figures above those estimated by unbiased sources like the Social Security Administration. Again, its better to skew high on the expectancy, which in the best case means you have a nest egg cushion. Youll be ready to beat the odds with the third of Americans who make it past age 90 and even the one out of seven who make it to 95.

Seeing Silver

Lets focus now on the so-called Silver Economy: the aging U.S. population often touted for its spending power. On the flip side, the hope which for now seems to be warranted is that businesses are not just eager to serve seniors, but are adapting, growing and innovating to do so. This at first may just take the form of businesses managing marketing and messaging so that seniors feel well served. Next, those businesses are going to need the bandwidth to serve the larger volume of older Americans.

But where business and seniors both win is the nexus at which companies develop new ways of doing business, new products and even new industries to serve the onslaught of older customers. The accompanying shift in thinking should not be, What do seniors need? but What do people need? and then viewing that through a lens of the graying of America.

That broader perspective helps ensure seniors have not only more traditional senior services, but any and every other product and service they need and want. So, this would include not just skilled nursing care, for instance, but also day-to-day services and technology tailored to seniors.

Focusing This All On You

Make it a point to get at least a ballpark idea of your own life expectancy for retirement and planning purposes and find out how those handling things for you are making the same determination. Again, the idea is not to fixate on the inevitable, but to ensure your retirement and financial planning includes this important question: How long are you going to need your money to last?

For your own calculation, consider using a variety of longevity tools and then working with an average. You might choose one no-cost life expectancy calculator from a major life insurance provider, another from the Social Security Administrationand another thats very lifestyle oriented.

Keep your eye on the horizon to create or be served by opportunities that are evolving to serve the countrys aging population. From Gen Alpha and Gen Z up to and through boomers, who knows what products and services will be improved or invented as we roll to our newfound life expectancy?

The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

Read the original post:
Know Your Life Expectancy And The Larger Implications - Forbes

This entry was posted on March 16, 2020 at 1:44 pm and is filed under Longevity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |