TRANSCRIPT:
The Social Security system hasn’t been around for even a hundred years yet. When it began making regular payments to Americans back in 1940, the average retirement age was 65. And so was the average life expectancy for those who made it to adulthood. At birth, the life expectancy in 1940 was actually only 58 due to the high infant and child mortality rate. If you did make it to adulthood, it was normal to work your entire life and then pass away after only a very short, if any, retirement.
Oh, how things have changed. Life expectancy has risen dramatically over the past century and today it’s almost up to age 80. By the year is predicted to be almost 90. The number of centenarians is on the rise and we have people living over the age of 115. Now a trend that’s moving in the other direction though is the average retirement age, steadily declining. The average age of retirement in the US is now age 62, which conveniently lines up with the age one is able to start their social security benefits. With a declining retirement age and an increasing mortality age, retirements are getting longer every year.
The idea of a 30 plus year retirement is something very new and hard for most to wrap their minds around as it is something that few people have experience with yet. This social issue is a big one in today’s retirement planning landscape. It’s difficult enough to plan for a 30 plus year retirement, but it’s impossible to plan for a retirement that you can’t even properly envision. If you would like help envisioning and making a plan for a 30 plus year retirement from an adviser who cares, give me a call.
