An Aging Population, Living Longer
As the baby boom generation moves into its retirement years, a progressively larger segment of our society will come to depend on retirement plans for their income. Additionally, this population of retirees will be living longer. Unlike their parents and grandparents, today’s 65-year-old retirees will have to live on their retirement benefits for an additional 20, 30 or even more years.
In the United States, the median life expectancy of a 65-year-old man and woman is 85 and 88, respectively. However, because the “median” represents the exact mid-point of the group’s age range, half of this population will live longer, often much longer, than the median life expectancy.
CAPTION: The image above illustrates the probabilities of a 65-year-old living to various ages. For example, there is 25% chance that a 65-year-old man will live to age 91, a 65-year-old woman to age 93, or at least one spouse of a 65-year-old couple to age 96.
Source: Annuity 2000 Mortality Tables. © 2007 Morningstar Inc.