Economists from the Brookings Institution recently released findings from a study tracking 26,000 Americans which showed that wealthy retirees live longer than the middle class and the poor. The wealth related longevity gap was most pronounced among women....
This data is especially significant for retirement planning.
Life expectancy can be a difficult topic for retirees, or soon to be retirees, but unless your health history is quite poor you should likely expect and plan to live well beyond average longevity. This is especially important for today's retirees as rapid advances in medical treatment provide the opportunity for not only longer, but also healthier and more active retirements.
In the US the life expectancy for a woman who turns 65 this year is 88.8, up from 85.2 in year 2000. Men are projected to live on average to age 86.6, up from 82.6.
The Brookings study was conducted strictly on Americans, but the results are similar throughout the developed world.
