More than half of pre-retirees and retirees estimate their life expectancy to be well below actuarial projections, according to the Society of Actuaries.
Of the more than 900 pre-retirees surveyed in SOA’s biennial Risks and Processes of Retirement Survey, 55 percent underestimate how long they will live relative to recently updated mortality tables. One in five pre-retirees, which the study defines as being age 45 and over, say they expect to die 10 or more years before actuarial averages.
And 17 percent of retirees assume they will live 10 or more years below the actuarial average. SOA’s mortality tables show the average 65 year-old male will live to be 86.6, and the average 65-year old female will live to be 86.4.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
