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A Vanguard study in 2019 says that 18% of 65-year-
old couples will have at least one spouse live to age
95 or later.
Section 1

Underestimating Your Life

Expectancy

In retirement planning, your time frame is your life. If you’re

married, it’s your life and the life of your spouse. Most people
are far too conservative in estimating the length of their lives.
This is a real problem when mapping out your financial future.

Advances in medicine and a heightened awareness of diet
and exercise in our society have led to life expectancies that

are years, even decades, longer than for previous generations

of Americans. Because most people base their life expectancy
on the ages reached by their parents or grandparents, they
tend to underestimate how long they or their spouse will live in

retirement.

For this reason, many people run the risk of running out of
money long before their lives end. It’s crucial to have a financial

strategy based on a life expectancy that may seem longer than
you imagine. If you want to leave a legacy to your children and

grandchildren, then it’s even more important to have a realistic

Chapter 5: Things That Can Wreck Your Retirement