Author Topic: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?  (Read 11919 times)

happy

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Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« on: April 21, 2014, 02:34:52 AM »
Life expectancy is a powerful variable when making retirement plans, yet I can't remember a thread on it. Just wondering what assumptions people are making and how you arrive at them.

There are some calculators such as this onehttp://www.mylongevity.com.au which tells me my life expectancy is 97. As far as I can see all this means is I've a 50% chance of living less and a 50% chance of living longer and most likely I'll live in the region of 97. Furthermore the longer you live the higher your life expectancy becomes: if you are age 100, using my same answers to the questions, life expectancy becomes 103. So I'm planning for 100. Won't be too upset if I go before then, but 100 seems prudent.

NinetyFour

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2014, 04:06:22 AM »
According to that calculator, I should live until I am 91.  Ugh.

marty998

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2014, 04:09:40 AM »
NinetyFour....tell me you're not 94 years old already?

I will apparently live till I'm 83. But I do not intend to be seated at my desk for 40 years, nor will I be a couch potato.

Now that I've said that, it is 100% certain I'll be hit by a bus tomorrow.

Squirrel away

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2014, 05:25:04 AM »
88 years, meh, maybe I will last that long.:)

HappierAtHome

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2014, 05:36:02 AM »
It only said 81 :-( this is not awesome.

In terms of financial planning, I assume I will live forever - by which I mean, I want a FIRE plan that involves not drawing down on principal.

NinetyFour

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2014, 05:49:00 AM »
NinetyFour....tell me you're not 94 years old already?

I will apparently live till I'm 83. But I do not intend to be seated at my desk for 40 years, nor will I be a couch potato.

Now that I've said that, it is 100% certain I'll be hit by a bus tomorrow.

Haha!  Nope.  I believe I am about 25 years older than you are.  (I saw in another thread that you made some reference to getting some gadget when you were 8 years old...)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2014, 06:05:18 AM »
Yikes - another 36 years (versus an average expectancy of 22) - that means 100! Oops, I was planning to live as long as my Dad and my Maternal grandmother - 93.  Guess I had better be more careful with inflation and my pension.  And staying healthy, 100 is no fun if you are a vegetable.  I am in groups with many elderly people (elderly = at least 15 years older than me, right?) and they are active and busy, not couch potatoes.  Plus collecting more good memories; my aunt said that when she was much older she wasn't able to do much, but she had so many great memories that she was fine.

It is fudged a bit in that my "work" answers were retirement ones, but it made it true - my "job" is not that sedentary, especially now with garden season coming, but in the winter I was wrestling with the snow blower a lot.  A healthy life style and long lived parents and grandparents didn't hurt.

Don't know if being in Canada versus Australia will make a difference.  Here, rural people tend to have slightly poorer health outcomes than urban ones,  but I don't know if that is poorer access to health care, lower education rates, exposure to health risks that aren't as obvious as city pollution, or what.  Hmm, time to hit the internet.

GuitarStv

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2014, 06:05:36 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2014, 06:13:55 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

It's an Australian poll. I'm regularly accused of being pregnant because at work events I stop after two glasses of bubbles. Australia has issues with alcohol.

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2014, 06:14:25 AM »
Hmmmm...according to this calculator I'm living to the fine old age of 98! If I can keep it up, maybe I will be able to run an ultramarathon in every state in the U.S. before I die!

GuitarStv

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2014, 06:23:03 AM »
I am expected to live another 36 years.  Hmm.  I'm an active non-smoker who is married and has little stress.  I suspect that the fact that no man in my family on either side has lived past 50 due to congenital heart problems is weighing heavily against me.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2014, 06:36:09 AM »
Interesting point on the web site - "Late motherhood seems to favour longevity" - not sure what age is late, but I certainly fit there.  It wasn't asked about in the survey, so I have to wonder how important it is.

Anyone interested in another survey, asking how old people were at the birth of their first child?  I imagine that we are all over the map with this, but maybe not - it would be interesting.

happy

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2014, 06:38:12 AM »
Yes, longevity  ( or lack thereof) in one's elders is one of the most powerful predictors of life expectancy. Of course you can always be the exception to the rule, people are not defined by statistics.


Post the thread R@63, I would be, but some of these youngsters haven't bred yet.

bogart

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2014, 06:45:12 AM »
I'm with Happier at Home -- don't touch the principal.

In terms of "other" issues (e.g. what services will I need as I age), I tend to figure on 100.  I don't really expect to live that long, but I'm risk averse and don't want to find myself unable to get help I need as I age.

Looks like the average Australian lives about 3 years longer than the average American, so perhaps those in the US using the calculator can subtract 3 from the results.  OTOH, if you're a white, middle-class American -- given the nature of averages -- perhaps you should add 3 years.

MayDay

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2014, 07:38:21 AM »
I would be shocked if I make it past 80, and that is just fine with me. I would rather die with my mind fully intact than live longer. I know it's not guaranteed but the rates of dementia, alzheimers, etc skyrocket after 80.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #15 on: April 21, 2014, 08:15:49 AM »
77. But wouldn't take much to make that number rise. Not so concerned about the age as much as the quality anyhow.

golden1

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2014, 08:28:32 AM »
Not really surprising - it gave me 54 more years to age 95.  I have several relatives on one side that lived past age 100 and a few on the other side that are age 90+.  Most of the people in my family that died early died due to preventable causes - not a lot of cancer or genetic diseases fortunately.  Women in my family in particular live a loooong time generally. 

So I have to be very conservative in my retirement planning.


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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2014, 08:46:01 AM »
I tried this estimator, and I don't understand why I have different numbers:

Average Longevity from Australia Life Tables: 85
SHAPE Estimate: 100
SHAPE Possible Range: 89 ~ 111

What I'm reading is that if I go to Australia, I'll die at 85, but if I stay in a country where SHAPE magazine is published, I might live to 111?  89-111 is a rather large range. 

Regardless, most of my female family members have lived long lives, so this isn't a surprise.  Most of them have slowed significantly in their 90s, but have not been really sick or unable to care for themselves until their last 1-2 years.  Most of my female relatives have died in their upper 90s. 

That's why I'm a bit more conservative than most people on this board.  That's why I'm still working though I have saved an amount that most people consider "plenty" to retire.  I don't want to take chances with being 80-something (with rusty work skills and too old to reasonably compete with the just-out-of-college crowd) and realizing that I'm running low on funds.  I want a comfortable buffer. 

Also, something I read in a magazine in the doctor's office a month or so ago:  A baby born today has a 50% chance of living to be 100.  I find that hard to believe -- I think more and more people are squandering their health. 

pachnik

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2014, 09:56:32 AM »
I came in at living to 94 years of age.  I am not that surprised since i had one grandfather live to 98 years old in good shape and he kept all his marbles.  i didn't include a great aunt who lived to 96 in my answer since it just said "aunt" "uncle" and not "great aunt/uncle".  In my financial planning i go to 90 years old - maybe I should change it to 95. 

This was an interesting set of questions


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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2014, 10:12:09 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

Um, no. Moderate is defined in the US as 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It's not that far off base for an Australian poll to just list it as 2. If you think 2 drinks a day is alcoholism you have never lived with an alcoholic.

I got either 59 more years from today or 104, depending on how you look at it. The minimum age it would let me enter was 45. Either way, I plan retirement assuming I'll live until 130. I'd rather leave some behind than run out.

GuitarStv

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #20 on: April 21, 2014, 10:24:15 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

Um, no. Moderate is defined in the US as 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It's not that far off base for an Australian poll to just list it as 2. If you think 2 drinks a day is alcoholism you have never lived with an alcoholic.

I did say borderline.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, men may be at risk for alcohol-related problems if their alcohol consumption exceeds 14 standard drinks per week - http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa68/aa68.htm

The NIAAA would appear to agree with me on this one.

Carrie

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2014, 10:30:54 AM »
96 here. I bet it would be longer if I start exercising regularly.
(My current exercise regime is housework / toddler / being 6 1/2 months pregnant / the occasional 1.5 mile walk around the hilly block)

I just did the calculator for my DH and got 88 years. (His parents health / early death weighed in here, I'm betting).  He's six years older than I am so that could make me a widow for 14 years.  Blech.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2014, 10:34:23 AM by Carrie »

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2014, 10:42:45 AM »
Yikes - I think I win the "will die earliest" according to this... 70.
I have major health issues in my family (no living past 76, lots of cancer), some other bad stuff and major stress.
I honestly don't see myself living into my 70s unless I quit my job, start exercising regularly and get MUCH healthier. :(

Fishingmn

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #23 on: April 21, 2014, 10:47:50 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

Um, no. Moderate is defined in the US as 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It's not that far off base for an Australian poll to just list it as 2. If you think 2 drinks a day is alcoholism you have never lived with an alcoholic.

I did say borderline.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, men may be at risk for alcohol-related problems if their alcohol consumption exceeds 14 standard drinks per week - http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa68/aa68.htm

The NIAAA would appear to agree with me on this one.

But 2 drinks a day have also been shown to have many health benefits - http://www.medicaldaily.com/7-health-benefits-drinking-alcohol-247552

Daisy

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2014, 11:16:57 AM »
We have long lives in our family. Paternal grandparents lived until 92. Maternal grandmother until 87. Maternal grandfather a little earlier in his 60s due to heart problems. They were all somewhat healthy as far as being able to take care of themselves, live independently, walk well, live on their own. My parents are in their early 80s. They are not faring so well as they have mobility issues. But they are mentally sharp. I have aunts in their late 80s going strong - still driving, cooking, walking well.

So I am expecting a long life into my mid-90s.

I think I read it on these forums that someone suggested using a paid-off house as a long term care fund. I think that's a great idea. Right now, the value of my house would fund me for about 7-8 years if I sold it.

I've also started to think of my paid off house as an OMG-I-am-approaching-80-and-my-funds-are-running-low! fund. I think that eases my fears of running out of money if things don't go according to plan. If I see that happening, I can sell the house and move into something smaller and rent or into a retirement community.

I've also thought of the idea of communal living with relatives or friends when I hit my mid-70s. I've pitched the idea to my sister and some friends. No one has totally agree to it yet (we are way far away from this age). I think it's a good way to save money in my later years. When I was a child, we would go visit some friends of the family where about 8 women (widowed, single, some related to each other) lived together in a home. They kept each other company.

GuitarStv

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #25 on: April 21, 2014, 11:29:26 AM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

Um, no. Moderate is defined in the US as 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It's not that far off base for an Australian poll to just list it as 2. If you think 2 drinks a day is alcoholism you have never lived with an alcoholic.

I did say borderline.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, men may be at risk for alcohol-related problems if their alcohol consumption exceeds 14 standard drinks per week - http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa68/aa68.htm

The NIAAA would appear to agree with me on this one.

But 2 drinks a day have also been shown to have many health benefits - http://www.medicaldaily.com/7-health-benefits-drinking-alcohol-247552

Many of the benefits reported of drinking have to do with anti-oxidants, which are pretty easy to get in your diet without alcohol.  Don't get me wrong . . . I enjoy a drink now and again, and am not saying that it'll kill you.  Drinking a two beers every single day of your life just seemes like a lot to me.

When I was boxing I was noticeably less rested/slower and less on the ball the next day in the gym even if I only had one or two the night before.  Eventually, cutting down to drinking moderately only on weekends and with food seemed to hurt my performance the least.  Although I don't box any more, the habit kinda stuck.  Worked out well for my wallet.

NinetyFour

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2014, 11:41:24 AM »


I've also thought of the idea of communal living with relatives or friends when I hit my mid-70s. I've pitched the idea to my sister and some friends. No one has totally agree to it yet (we are way far away from this age). I think it's a good way to save money in my later years. When I was a child, we would go visit some friends of the family where about 8 women (widowed, single, some related to each other) lived together in a home. They kept each other company.

I love this idea.  Golden Girls??  Let's all move in with Betty White, as she is the last one standing.  :)

Catbert

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #27 on: April 21, 2014, 12:00:08 PM »
94...the high end of what I hope to do.  Late 80s/early 90s seems ideal assuming that you're in good health up to the end.

I've never understood people who want to live to 100.  By 100 almost all have major impairments (eyesight too bad to read, hearing too bad to have an easy conversation or watch TV, too frail to live alone or get around, etc.)

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #28 on: April 21, 2014, 12:18:55 PM »
94, which is about what I would have guessed considering my family history

teen persuasion

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #29 on: April 21, 2014, 12:30:37 PM »
101 - I usually use 105, or whatever is the highest value, in any retirement calculators.  I've got long lived relatives, my great aunt lived to 102.  DH's adopted, so he has no family health info, and I think he's influenced by his adoptive mom's death at 56; he doesn't expect to live long enough to retire, despite not having her genetics.

Zikoris

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #30 on: April 21, 2014, 12:50:47 PM »
103, which makes sense to me - no smoking, drinking, or drugs, vegetarian diet, lots of exercise, non-sedentary job, and a family history of living remarkably long (90+). I wear sunscreen, too. Better make sure I have lots of money in my retirement accounts.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #31 on: April 21, 2014, 06:51:40 PM »
Life expectancy does differ by country (WHO, 2013) - Australia 83 (men 80.5 women 85.5), Canada 82.5 (80.4, 84.6), US 79.8 (77.4, 82.2), UK 81 (79.5, 82.5).  Other surveys and years give slightly different results.  So it looks like Canadians will get more realistic results than others.

Diseases also play a part - a lot of the UN countries with low life expectancies have wars and/or serious HIV.  I can see that, my grandparents were in their 20's when they died - Spanish flu.  And I had colleagues who also lost grandparents to that, it took a lot of people in their 20's and 30's.

deborah

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #32 on: April 21, 2014, 09:27:58 PM »
97.

This questionnaire is geared to Australian conditions though. For example, we get a lot of melanoma (one of the highest incidents in the world - thus the suntan question), less pollution (so less weight would be put on this question than it would in other countries) - as well as one of the highest life expectancies in the world. 

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #33 on: April 21, 2014, 09:40:50 PM »
I got 97 as well.  Interesting.

Mark31

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #34 on: April 21, 2014, 10:04:02 PM »
Woohoo! I’m going to make it to ninety, and that’s with no’s to most of the key longevity questions. None of my grandparents made it to eighty, so I’m going to take the results with a grain of salt.

I’m familiar with basic life tables, but had always been wondering how to modify them. In fact I’d often wondered how to remove the suicide component from them – this is probably partly why they ask a lot of questions about how positive you are.

There’s a lot of longevity on my father’s side of the family, except that my grandfather died at 65 due to a genetic illness that I don’t have. I’m reasonably certain my other grandfather drank himself into an early grave.

deborah

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #35 on: April 22, 2014, 02:20:34 AM »
None of my grandparents made it to eighty, so I’m going to take the results with a grain of salt.

However, when they lived, life expectancy was probably about 72 - now its 83. When I was at school, we learnt that it was 68. This is one of the problems baby boomers have - we were all taught those numbers, so no wonder many are having problems with retirement funds.

BFGirl

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #36 on: April 22, 2014, 05:29:33 AM »
Mine said 80.  Hope to not touch principal in retirement, but have planned worst case for principal draw down until 85-90.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #37 on: April 22, 2014, 05:42:42 AM »
One of the big things about life expectancy that throws people off is the basic math behind it.  If you want life expectancy for a newborn, you have to factor in all the ones who die young.  This is why we hear that in historical times, life expectancy was in the 40's - that was the average, if children made it past 5, they were pretty good to survive until their 20's, when war (men) and childbirth (women) then took their toll.  Survive that, and you could well make it into your 70's or 80's.

Similarly, for us baby boomers, those of us around have survived our childhoods and early adult-hoods, so our life expectancy is higher than the original number, simply because we are not already dead.  Hey, I can't die at 60!

Life expectancy for younger groups may look higher because childhood mortality is down.  It doesn't necessarily mean that someone who is 40 now will necessarily live longer than someone who was 40 twenty years ago.

End of life tables class.  Isn't math fun? And non-intuitive?

However, when they lived, life expectancy was probably about 72 - now its 83. When I was at school, we learnt that it was 68. This is one of the problems baby boomers have - we were all taught those numbers, so no wonder many are having problems with retirement funds.

deborah

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #38 on: April 25, 2014, 01:15:12 AM »
One of the big things about life expectancy that throws people off is the basic math behind it.  If you want life expectancy for a newborn, you have to factor in all the ones who die young.  Life expectancy for younger groups may look higher because childhood mortality is down.  It doesn't necessarily mean that someone who is 40 now will necessarily live longer than someone who was 40 twenty years ago.

End of life tables class.  Isn't math fun? And non-intuitive?

Actually, the figures I was quoting were all from birth. Life expectancy has changed dramatically during our lifetimes. In Australia they think that 1 in 3 people born today will live to 100.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #39 on: April 25, 2014, 06:46:55 AM »
"From birth" is what we usually see - but the interesting part is the take that 1 in 3 will make it to 100.  There were always a few who made it that long (my great uncle made it to 100.5!) but they used to be rare.  Our recent increase (say last 100 years) in longevity has been due a lot to low infant/child mortality, not so much at the older end, but that has been changing over the last 30 or so years.

Canada's Chief Actuary said "Average lifespans may not hit 100, but more individuals are expected to reach that level. Half of Canadians aged 20 today will live to age 90, and 10 per cent are expected to reach 100".  Our demographics are pretty similar to Australia's, so we are pessimists or Australians are optimists  ;-).  Or the Fountain of Youth is hidden somewhere in the Outback

And from the FIRE viewpoint, if a lot of people will live a lot longer, there are going to be changes in retirement planning, by governments if by no-one else.  The Canada Pension Plan has already made changes both in funding and in pension payments, anticipating this, as has Old Age Security.  At least if people hear that the life expectancy is, say 90 instead of 78/83/whatever, they will maybe start thinking more about retirement planning. 

Actually, the figures I was quoting were all from birth. Life expectancy has changed dramatically during our lifetimes. In Australia they think that 1 in 3 people born today will live to 100.

deborah

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #40 on: April 25, 2014, 04:16:34 PM »
A number of retirement sites do have life expectancy for various ages. For instance, this article from one of my favourite Australian websites http://www.superguide.com.au/how-super-works/latest-data-find-out-how-long-you-can-expect-to-live gives life expectancy (in Australia) for every year from 0 to 109.

deborah

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #41 on: April 26, 2014, 04:15:59 PM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.
Standard drinks are smaller in Australia - I have just been looking at another post, and I realized that they are 5/6 of a US standard drink

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #42 on: April 26, 2014, 06:51:05 PM »
In what world is two drinks a day every day a moderate amount?  That's borderline alcoholism.

Um, no. Moderate is defined in the US as 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. It's not that far off base for an Australian poll to just list it as 2. If you think 2 drinks a day is alcoholism you have never lived with an alcoholic.

I got either 59 more years from today or 104, depending on how you look at it. The minimum age it would let me enter was 45. Either way, I plan retirement assuming I'll live until 130. I'd rather leave some behind than run out.

I have a beer or two almost every day (but not very often more than that) and my family tree is full of alcoholics. I know the difference quite well. When one drink a day becomes two that's one thing, and when two becomes four that's quite another. In my book it's pretty simple. If your drinking is light enough that you don't get intoxicated (and two beers in an evening won't do that for me) then you are not an alcoholic. I should cut back a little because of the calories, not the alcohol.

Ian

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #43 on: April 26, 2014, 08:39:15 PM »
Hmm, 89. Unlikely, given my family history. I wish the site would tell you the impact of each decision on the final number.

train_writer

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #44 on: April 27, 2014, 07:31:30 AM »
I got 102, but what I find more interesting is how many years in good health condition we -statistically of course- have left.

According to the Dutch statistics office, the number of years without chronical illnesses and/ or disabilities actually went down (!) for women and stagnated for men, while life expectancy went up for both. Unfortunately, that article is not in English, but

Here is the Dutch calculator in English of life expectancy and healthy life expectancy:
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/gezondheid-welzijn/cijfers/extra/resterende-gezonde-levensverwachting.htm?Languageswitch=on

Edit: According to the Dutch calculator I, 25 years old woman, will
- live up to 83,8 years.
- catch a chronic illness like rheuma, migraine, diabetes at age 47 (!)
- be in general good health up to an average of 65

Now, looking at my family members, this might actually strike through, allthough i do live much healthier than they do.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2014, 07:38:05 AM by train_writer »

Cpa Cat

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #45 on: April 29, 2014, 10:06:23 AM »
I always run my retirement to 105. My grandfather lived to be 99. He lived independently in a retirement home. He went blind, but was otherwise in good health and continued to do things like walk to the local cafe and hang out at the senior center and went to church regularly. He died in his sleep - his clothes set out for the next day.

My other grandfather is rolling into his 90s. He's had some health problems that have required temporary residential care. He has a place he likes to go when living independently is a challenge.

I don't want to be 99 years old and face having to move to a cheaper retirement home in the last years of my life. Or not be able to enter the right long term care facility because of budget constraints. I figure if my retirement income takes me beyond 100 with a high probability of success, then I'm good to go.

nereo

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #46 on: April 29, 2014, 10:42:50 AM »
I expect to have a life, and for my financial calculations I expect to live forever.
Most online life-expectancy calculators put my life expectancy in the late 80s, but that leaves me with ~50 years of FI.  Not much difference in the success of portfolios destined to last for 40 years vs 60, so I'll get to a number I'm comfortable with and then make periodic adjustments throughout my retirement to maximize its success.

In the meantime I try to do things that will maximize my longevity.  I try to eat well, exercise and stay active in the community.  Tomorrow, I could be hit by a bus (or I could live to be 100) so I try not to worry.

Rewdoalb

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Re: Life expectancy - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #47 on: April 29, 2014, 09:49:30 PM »
I answered "no" to every single question about eating.  Made me think they need to switch up some of those questions...