April 19, 2012
Are we scared of getting old? Yes! Getting old means coping with longevity risk.
I recently heard that financial planners should project a life expectancy of 105 for clients, ten years longer than the typical 95 years old. The extra ten years means a lot more people will run out of money before exiting the planet. It is a frightening prospect.
There are no simple answers to this dilemma. Maybe we should be forecasting our needs decade by decade in retirement. What do our 70s look like? What will our 80s look like? What will our 90s look like? How about the 100s? How will we live, where will we live, and how will we pay for it?
In my family’s recent history, the seniors have faced new health challenges upon reaching their 80s. They are also surprised to be living this long. The earlier generation didn’t live into their 80s so what we’re experiencing is new. If my generation is going to live another twenty years as aging seniors we better start planning now.