Retirement planning must start here: with a life expectancy calculator. Retirement planning depends on knowing how long you expect to live. Someone who runs out of money because they lived longer than they planned for will find themselves in a very bad situation…
As deacons become more involved in the financial lives of their church members, the topic of retirement will come up. Members will want to know about retirement planning. If they don’t ask, the deacons should ask if they have a plan, or if they plan to retire. If it’s something they don’t want to talk about, that’s fine, don’t pry. But ask them if they know how long their life expectancy is. Ask them if they have used a free online calculator.
Anyone who wishes to retire needs to have a plan. This plan must include how many years that person expects to live after quitting their job.
The longer a person’s expected lifespan, the more difficult and more expensive retirement becomes. The World Health Organization reported that global life expectancy at birth in 2016 was 72.0 years, with women living longer on average at 74.2 years and men shorter at 69.8 years.
A person’s individual health and other factors influence their expected lifespan.
All retirement planning should start with a lifespan calculator. Search Google for “life expectancy calculator.” Here are examples:
- How Long Will I Live?
- Social Security Life Expectancy Calculator
- Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator
LONG LIFE
People are living longer. That’s because medical technology continues to improve. Vaccines and medical treatment have improved. Costs, at least in some areas, have fallen, granting more people greater access to life-saving technology.
As lifespan increases, so does the cost of retirement.
If a person plans to retire at the age of 65 and expects to live until they are 82, that’s about 17 years. There are other costs to consider also, however. One of those is end-of-life care. Will the person be a healthy 82 when they die? Or will they require some kind of nursing home care or hospice care if they get ill? Both will cost a lot of money. This may exhaust their remaining savings.
Another crucial piece to consider is inheritance. The Bible says that a righteous person leaves an inheritance to his children’s children (Proverbs 13:22). How much does the individual plan to leave to their children? This needs to be added on top of their retirement lifestyle and anticipated medical expenses.
CONCLUSION
Retirement calculations require life expectancy as an input. Any person who is serious about retiring should use several of the life expectancy calculators that are available online and get their results.
Deacons should encourage their congregation members to do this. It is an important part of long-term financial planning.