The New Map of Life: 5 Things You Should Do Differently

Check out Jeremy’s latest podcast on the new map of life by listening on “Apple Podcasts” or “Google Podcasts” or read below for 5 Things You Should Do Differently in Retirement.

#81 – The average life expectancy is 30 years longer than it was a century ago. As a result, retirees now have more years to plan for.

After all, an extra 30 years likely means that the end of your retirement will be a lot later than it used to be!

Now, you might say, “Why do I need to worry about the end of my retirement already? Let me enjoy the beginning of my golden years first!”

If you don’t think about the end of retirement now, how will you know how many years you need to save for? Or how much you can spend each year without the risk of running out of money?

In this episode, Jeremy Keil shares interesting, research-driven retirement strategies by Laura Carstensen from the Stanford Center on Longevity. You’ll learn about a new map of life — a plan that is aligned with a higher life expectancy and teaches you to spend your pre- and post-retirement days more efficiently and enjoyably.

Jeremy discusses:

• Why you should focus on joint and personalized life expectancy rates
• How retirement planning has changed over the years (and what retirees should do differently today)
• Reasons to consider working longer in retirement
• 6 maxims to help you create a better life in retirement
• And more

The New Map of Life: 5 Things You Should Do Differently

Before we dive into the 5 things retirees should do differently today, let’s take a look at the NEW MAP created by the Stanford Center on Longevity to guide long-lived societies:

• New roles and opportunities must be created so that people experience purpose, belonging, and worth at all stages of life.
• Education is a lifelong pursuit. Moreover, it has shown that education can lead to a longer life!
• Working longer will occur in multigenerational contexts. If we expand how long people work, there is a possibility of having people from four generations working together. Having such a diverse age group is beneficial for the workplace.
• Money. Opportunities to earn and save must be available throughout life to ensure financial security.
• Advances in the science of aging must be distributed broadly in the population. We, as a society, should help everyone live a longer and healthier life.
• Physical health and the prevention of disease are critical to achieving the promise of longevity. As Dr. Carstensen suggests, stop playing seated brain games all day. Get up and perform some physical exercise instead.

Now, let’s move on to the 5 things you can do differently to improve your retirement picture:

1) Forget the Traditional Sequence

Compared to 125 years ago, we are all gifted with an extra 30 years of life expectancy. Why add them only to the end of life? Perhaps you can spread them out throughout your life — study a little longer, work some, have more vacation days, and finally, enjoy more retirement.

Traditionally, most people have adopted the general life sequence: study, work, retire.

Forget the traditional sequence. Instead, you could take an extra week or month of vacation and live like a stress-free retiree while you’re still working. You can then compensate for these extra vacation weeks by working a year longer.

You don’t need to separate learning, work, and retirement anymore. Reap the benefits of the added years throughout life!

2) Focus On Personalized and Joint Life Expectancies

The life expectancies that you read online might give you the expected lifespan of a child born today. However, they can vary significantly for retirees who are already in their 60s.

For more accurate planning, you should search for:

• Personalized life expectancy: Instead of relying on averages, calculate a personalized life expectancy that is based on your age, gender, health, and lifestyle habits.
• Joint life expectancy: If you’re entering retirement as a couple, take a look at the joint life expectancy of yourself and your partner. In other words, what is the probability of either one of you making it past a certain age?

You can get estimates for both personalized and joint life expectancies on the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator.

3) Don’t Compare Your Retirement With That of Your Parents/Grandparents

A lot of 60-year-olds fear that they only have a few more years to live now.

Where does this fear stem from? For a lot of people, their parents/grandparents might have died at an earlier age because the life expectancy was lower before.

But consider this: The previous generations had fewer medical advances, underwent the harsh conditions of a world war, and perhaps also had frequent smoking habits.

Today, you have nearly 25 more years of medical advances compared to your parents and 50 more years of advances compared to your grandparents!

So, don’t compare your retirement with that of the previous generations. You very likely need to plan for a longer life.

4) Consider Working Longer

The idea of working longer and delaying retirement can seem scary. But it’s not as bad as you might think.

Research has shown that 50% of 85-year-olds feel healthy enough to work!

Working longer can be a great way to increase your retirement income. Plus, you can get the benefits of an increased Social Security and pension by delaying your retirement.

As mentioned above, working longer can also be good for your mental and physical health, leading to a longer and healthier life.

5) Note Down These Six Maxims

The following six maxims by the Stanford Center on Longevity are worth keeping in mind:

• Age diversity is a net positive for society: Young people can receive tremendous wisdom from old people. Old people can feel reinvigorated after interacting with younger folks. Overall, it’s great to have multiple generations together in a community.
• Investing in future centenarians holds big returns: If you invest in your health, education, and life early on, such as prenatal care for a baby, you can help improve the life expectancy of future generations.
• The metric of success is the alignment of health span and life span: The goal is to have not only a longer life but also a healthier life.
• Learning must occur throughout life: You’re not done learning after college. Lifelong learning enhances your mental capacity and is capable of prolonging your life.
• Work more years, but fewer hours in a day and fewer days in a week: Instead of grinding more work hours and weeks early in your career, enjoy life as you go. By working only a year or two longer in the future, you can have more vacation days off in the present!
• Life transitions are a feature, not a bug: Embrace life transitions (like retirement). They are simply a feature of life, not a problem to stress over.

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Do you want to learn more about retirement planning? Check out the resources below!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help you plan for your ideal retirement!

Resources:

• Stanford Center on Longevity
• Dr. Laura Carstensen
• Stanford Longevity: The New Map of Life
• A Global Agenda for a New Map of Life
• Actuaries Longevity Illustrator
• ”Century Lives” podcast from the Stanford Center on Longevity
• 3 Things You Should Know Before Choosing A Financial Advisor
• 6 Questions Retirees Aren’t Asking But Should Be
• 5stepretirementplan.com
• Subscribe to Retirement Revealed on Google Podcasts
• Subscribe to Retirement Revealed on Apple Podcasts

Connect With Jeremy Keil:

• Jeremy@keilfp.com
• (262) 333-8353
• Send Us Your Questions
• Keil Financial Partners
• LinkedIn: Jeremy Keil
• Facebook: Jeremy Keil
• LinkedIn: Keil Financial Partners
• Book a call with Jeremy

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