How Long Will You Be Around?
| Online Tips |
|---|
Get financial tips on a wide range of topics delivered to your email every month when you register for our monthly web news. Sign up today when you log in to the Preference Center. |
One thing life and retirement planning have in common is that they're both such a crapshoot. You just never know what you're gonna get. And there are so many variables, especially when calculating your retirement needs. You've got to consider how much money you have, how much you'll spend, how much risk you're willing to take, whether Social Security will play a role, and what inflation could mean for your money over the long run.
The scientific term for that so-called "long run" is life expectancy, although it's anything but an exact science. It is based on statistics gathered by people who make their living predicting how long the rest of us will live. One thing that's true is that people are living longer than ever thanks to medical advances and other factors.
You can get an estimate of how long you'll be around using our life expectancy worksheet. The number it tallies for you probably won't change your life, but it may get you thinking about retirement planning, and we happen to have some free workshops where you can learn more on that topic.
Take Action Tip for Today
Use our life expectancy worksheet (fillable PDF, 116K) to calculate how long you will be around. It factors things like genes and lifestyle choices since they have a huge impact on what these numbers may or may not mean for you.
Other Resources
We have three free workshops that are packed with information:
- My Retirement Matters – "Takes the fear out of planning for retirement," according to judges who awarded this workshop a 2011 EIFLE Award for excellence in financial education. If you are within 20 years of retirement, the workshop empowers you to act.
- Your Social Security Statement – Helps you consider your retirement benefits and opportunities using your annual statement provided by the Social Security Administration.
- Your Retirement Income: Optimize It. Protect It. Enjoy It – Attend if you are nearing retirement or have been there less than five years to gain a retirement income distribution framework that accounts for your time horizon, needs and goals. ("Time horizon" is just another way to describe "life expectancy." Have we mentioned our worksheet (PDF, 116K)?)
Find these and other free workshops in your area.
 |
Download
Adobe Acrobat Reader (needed to view .pdf files) |
201101945