How many years do you factor for retirement?

B0bbyEwing

Albermarle said:

It is not too pessimistic, it is just that you are concentrating on  situations/events  that reinforce your view of the world ( like we all tend to do) 

The hard statistics show that average life expectancy in the UK is about 80. If you have managed to reach 60/65, then you can expect to live until your mid 80's on average, which means 50% will live longer than that.

Yeah I'd be in agreement with that statement. With emphasis on what I've put in bold.

DoublePolaroid said:

There will never be a ‘cure’ for heart disease IMO as long as there is no cure for ageing, because the inexorable furring up of arteries as we age is inevitable from about the late teens onwards. All that can be done is manage the modifiable risk factors that accelerate it (smoking, high BP, poor diet, lack of exercise etc). There’s no value in worrying about the stuff like genetics, age and sex which can’t be modified. 

I'm in agreement with this also.
I have a view very much of what will be will be (to a point). 
When my dad was going to his heart rehab classes after his second heart attack, the rehab doc stressed the importance of cardio based exercise vs weights for heart health. 
Assuming that guy was accurate, then it's good fortune I get a buzz out of cardio based exercise

I do what I do to give myself a reasonable chance of having a healthy life and beyond that, whatever will be will be. I exercise, I eat relatively ok and am comfortable with what I eat. Saying I detest smoking is putting it mildly. I've never even put a cig to my lips, lit or unlit, though my parents were both smokers until my dad's first heart attack when I was 7 and I'm sure my mum's told me before that she smoked when pregnant with me. 

But as I've said, what will be will be & what's happened has happened. 

DoublePolaroid said:

This is all a very circuitous way of trying to provide an antidote, if not a cure, to your pessimism.

Haha. I admire your optimism. 

I may not be good at many things, but I have long since mastered the art of pessimism. 

Descrabled

Decided not to go for a long term fixed rate bond!

Remember: Travel first class now or your children will later.

B0bbyEwing

OldMusicGuy said:

I retired four years ago at 61 and I have a detailed spreadsheet that forecasts all income and expenditure (including tax, inflation and investment growth) up to age 95 for both of us. After that I assume we will likely be in a care home, and the budget assumes we will need a reasonable chunk of money available to fund care by then.

So I'm planning for us reaching a fine old age because that's what I hope to do. I'm trying to stay fit and healthy for as long as possible.

My advice is not to use family history (or anecdotal evidence based on people you know) as an excuse to get out of planning for a long retirement. Unless you have a diagnosed, life shortening condition IMO it's unwise to assume you will die before reaching a fine old age. You may well die before you hit your 90s, but if you do reach your 90s you don't want to be left without enough money. At least I don't........

If it's of any interest, my FiL is 95 and is just about to go into a care home. We are trying to plan his finances and it's hard to predict how long he will live. Although quite frail he is in good health and we can see him going on for a few years yet. The oldest resident in the home is 105...... 

Care situation is a frustrating one. Seeing all your money vanish like that. Certainly not cheap.

2 care scenarios from recent times I've in one way or another experienced.

1) A chap I worked with had his mother who was really quite well off, ending up in a care home. All her life savings going down-down-down to fund the care which by the time she died eroded massive amounts of money.
This chaps aunt - his mothers sister, in the same care home, getting the same care from the same people ... for free, as she had no money.

Depending on your views you'll either say yes that's precisely the way it should be or it'll frustrate you.

You can guess which side of that fence I'm on.

2) My grandmother, many 1000s spent on absolutely shocking, I'm not even going to call it care. It was disgusting is what it was & not just from one place either. I think she had 4 places in total. Some of the actions were just downright dangerous to health/life. 3 of those places should be shut down. The final one was the best of a bad bunch but it didn't make it good. 

Having actual personal experience with the care system via my gran just makes me hope I never have to go in such a place.

Not trying to imply all places are like that but from personal experience 4 out of 4 were not great.

Apodemus said:

this thread is certainly a bit depressing - not because of the discussion about our eventual demise, but to read of someone "hitting 40" who doesn't realise that time is on their side to radically improve their health and chances of a much longer active life.  

Hmm this is an interesting one.

Considering you actually know very little about my health beyond a very small portion what I've mentioned here, I'm curious as to how you think I can "radically improve" it.


So you're not answering totally blind, I'll give you half a chance - I go to the largest gym in the area of a not so small city. As things currently stand, without going in to too much detail, I'm the 3rd most active person at my gym this month. A few months ago I was 2nd and I can't remember the last time I was out of the top 10. Frequently in the top 5.

So then, how can I not slightly improve but "radically improve" my health?

jimjames

It's a good question but clearly a very difficult one to know. As a couple, 3 of out 4 parents are in their 80s, the other died age 48 but having reached 80 it's more likely to reach 90 than a 65 year old. For my plans I'd assumed a long retirement to at least give best chance of funding it. Not a problem to leave money but a bit more of an issue to run out.

Jami74

My great-grandma lived until 102. One grandma until 92 (despite being a heavy smoker for most of her life), the other in her 90's and still going strong. Both parents are claiming state pension and still working full time (partly due to poor financial choices) and do not look like slowing down any time soon. I always used to assume/hope I'd see 100, but working in healthcare I hope that I don't linger on for too long after quality of life has started to decline. Therefore, I am planning for 30 years from state pension age. I am expecting to spend the most in the first decade following state pension age and less in next 15 years. If I do reach my 90's I expect expenditure to go up and if I need care then I might need to rely on state help. 

sevenhills

Jami74 said:

My great-grandma lived until 102. One grandma until 92 (despite being a heavy smoker for most of her life), the other in her 90's and still going strong.

I have a 95 year old relative, you just don't know if they will survive this year or make it into the next decade.

newatc

I seen, not literally, some work colleagues die within a short time after retirement so I was determined to retire early which I did at the age of 53 and to date have been lucky enough to have enjoyed 20 years of retirement. My parents died at the ages of 68 and 82 and had a much harder life than me so I don't think that is much of a guide. I live in a retirement area and I've seen many of my neighbours age and some survived until their nineties. Of those that did, none had an enviable life in their 90s so I for one will settle for a mid-eighties finish.
We are comfortable financially but who knows what the future will hold but it is something I no longer worry about. 

Beddie

Descrabled said:

Decided not to go for a long term fixed rate bond!

Remember: Travel first class now or your children will later.

Not heard that before about travel, how true!

OldMusicGuy

B0bbyEwing said:

OldMusicGuy said:

I retired four years ago at 61 and I have a detailed spreadsheet that forecasts all income and expenditure (including tax, inflation and investment growth) up to age 95 for both of us. After that I assume we will likely be in a care home, and the budget assumes we will need a reasonable chunk of money available to fund care by then.

So I'm planning for us reaching a fine old age because that's what I hope to do. I'm trying to stay fit and healthy for as long as possible.

My advice is not to use family history (or anecdotal evidence based on people you know) as an excuse to get out of planning for a long retirement. Unless you have a diagnosed, life shortening condition IMO it's unwise to assume you will die before reaching a fine old age. You may well die before you hit your 90s, but if you do reach your 90s you don't want to be left without enough money. At least I don't........

If it's of any interest, my FiL is 95 and is just about to go into a care home. We are trying to plan his finances and it's hard to predict how long he will live. Although quite frail he is in good health and we can see him going on for a few years yet. The oldest resident in the home is 105...... 

Care situation is a frustrating one. Seeing all your money vanish like that. Certainly not cheap.

The care situation is what it is. The most important thing is to plan for it and make sure you have choices.

My FiL has tried to carry on for as long as possible living independently so that he can pass on his savings to his family. His family have been saying don't worry about that, spend it on yourself to make sure you spend your final years in comfort. He has finally got to the point where he is struggling and has decided to use his wealth to ensure he can go into a lovely home near to us in a part of the country he loves. He can fund between 8 to 10 years of care. The family don't care that there may be nothing left, they just want him to be comfortable. 

callum9999

labp04 said:

If a rough'ish idea helps, maybe try this Life expectancy calculator - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Uh oh, I should probably start blasting through my savings!