How Long Will You Live?

As you plan for retirement, one of the most important questions to ask yourself is how long you expect to live. Of course, none of us can predict the future with 100 percent accuracy, and unexpected events do occur. But in general, there are several questions you can ask yourself to get a pretty good idea of your expected life span.

With death rates for serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke declining, many Americans can expect to live longer than their parents and grandparents did. According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, there are eight major factors that most reliably predict how long you will live.

● Marital status
● Current age
● Ethnicity
● Gender
● Smoking habits
● Seatbelt use
● Travel habits
● Time spent exercising

Oddly enough, diet and alcohol use did not make the list of most predictive factors! But you may be surprised to know that a happy marriage is one of the leading indicators that you will live a longer life. If you’re really curious about your expected life span, you can take the quiz published online by Time Magazine .

Most people hope to live a long, happy, and healthy life. But with people living so much longer these days, adequate retirement planning is more important than ever. It’s important to remember that once you stop working, you could live two or three decades on a combination of Social Security and some other form of retirement income.

It’s that “other form of retirement income” that concerns us the most. If you’re like most people, you are unsure of how much to save or which retirement products will benefit you the most. Make an appointment with a financial professional, who can assess your current situation, goals for the future, and abilities before helping you devise a plan for a stable retirement.