One of the important factors in retirement planning is how long you expect to live. While most people would like to live at least through their mid-80’s, our genetics and lifestyle choices may preclude a long life. Yet with improving medical science more and more people will live into their 90’s and beyond. As you consider when to retire it’s also helpful to have a realistic idea of how long you may live. Will you outlive your savings? Or should you enjoy your funds while you can?
The internet offers a few calculators to determine how long you may live and also what your “real” age is today. The website www.livingto100.com is based on the book of the same name. It asks 40 questions about your health and family history and then gives you a life expectancy (just the age, not the exact date!).
Another site titled “How Long Will I Live?” is at gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html. This one also has 40 quick questions to answer about things like your height, weight, family history, driving and more. It gives you a very precise (within a couple days) life expectancy but also offers your odds of living a longer or shorter life.
