Plan to live well as long as you can, instead of living to an arbitrary age.
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When I was in my 50s, I wanted to live to age 100, and I made changes in my exercise and nutrition to increase the odds of succeeding. According to a recent survey conducted by Corebridge Financial titled Living and Funding Longer Lives, I had a lot of company. Almost half (49%) of survey respondents reported they also wanted to live to 100.
There can be many reasons people might express a desire to live until age 100. Humans have a strong instinct for survival, and living longer gives us more time to enjoy life and stay connected with family and friends. For example, my wife and I want to see how the lives of our kids and grandkids evolve and play out, since we’ve devoted a lot of attention and love to launching them.
Here are the top four reasons from Corebridge survey respondents, which were cited by at least half of them:
On the other hand, many people express concerns about the challenges of living to an advanced age.
From the vantage point of my early 70s, I now realize that my live-to-100 goal was an intellectual ambition that, at the time, wasn’t informed by my emotions or life experience. Since then, I’ve seen parents and older relatives and friends pass away well before 100, and they struggled in their last few years. And lately my wife and I have been experiencing medical conditions that might be previews of challenges to come. Apparently, many other retirees have had the same experience: Fewer retirees in the Corebridge study reported they wanted to live to 100 compared to Gen Z respondents (42% vs. 55%).
The Corebridge survey respondents expressed many concerns about living longer. More than two-thirds of survey respondents listed these concerns, in order of prevalence:
In fact, survey respondents were almost twice as likely to fear running out of money than dying (62% vs. 38%).
Perhaps we need to refine our longevity goals.
Instead of living to an arbitrary age, a longevity goal that can make more sense is “to live well as long as I can.” This goal has more flexibility and leaves room for interpretation. It can also provide guidance on steps you can take to reach your goal.
How could you define “living well”? One advantage of this goal is that you can define it any way you want. You can start with the reasons for living to 100 expressed previously and preventing the concerns. And your goals might evolve as you age, as has been the experience of my wife and me.
Our older relatives and friends became increasingly frail and dependent as they aged, but they still enjoyed their connections with family and pursued interests that were still possible at their age. For example, my mother still hosted family dinners and enjoyed gardening in her back yard until her late 80s.
Even if you no longer have the goal to make it to 100, it still makes sense to plan as if you might live that long. The reason: There’s a chance you could live that long. It’s much more likely, however, that you’ll live until your early to mid 90s, and the planning steps for living to this age are the same.
ForbesThe Live-To-100 Retirement PlanSuch a plan should include strategies to remain financially secure, as healthy as possible, and social connected for the rest of your life. Aiming for these goals will require robust plans. It might make sense to work with qualified advisors, especially in regards to your finances and health, to help you.
Living well for a long time will take some time, effort, and money. But it’s worth it considering you’re planning for your quality of life for the rest of your life.
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