How long will my nest egg have to last?
Thanks to healthier lifestyles and breakthroughs in medical technology, life expectancy for Americans has increased significantly during the past half-century. While it’s good news that you can expect to live longer in retirement and have a better quality of life, it also means your investment portfolio may need to last for 30 years or more.
For example, here’s the likelihood of 65-year-olds living to certain ages, according to figures from the Society of Actuaries:
- Male: A 65-year-old man has a 41 percent chance of living to age 85 and a 20 percent chance of living to age 90.
- Female. A 65-year-old woman has a 53 percent chance of living to age 85 and a 32 percent chance of living to age 90.
- Couple: If the man and woman are married, the chance that at least one of them will live to any given age is increased. There’s a 72 percent chance that one of them will live to age 85 and a 45 percent chance that one will live to age 90. There’s even an 18 percent chance that one of them will live to age 95, as shown below.
Given these numbers, it’s important to consider a couple of things to be sure you have enough of a nest egg to last you for 25 or 30 or even 40 years of retirement. We have all been assured that our pensions are secure, but pension reform is a hot topic nowadays. It’s important to set aside some extra retirement savings to give yourself a cushion. It’s also important to diversify, not having all your eggs in one basket. Sure, you want to take advantage of good market returns, but your entire retirement nest egg shouldn’t be subject to market downturns. A good chunk of your funds should be in a product with a fixed, guaranteed return.
Secondly you need to protect your nest egg from a health crisis, a major illness that can cause you to dip into your retirement funds just survive financially. A critical illness policy can provide thousands of dollars to survive financially through a medical crisis rather than forcing you to rob your nest egg.
| CBLife is The Club’s partner for two areas – critical illness insurance and retirement income Currently the Club offers two CBLife products: the Security Builder Plan and a guarantee issue critical illness plan. Ask your Club Counselor for details. You can contact CBLife at (888) 443-8829. |
