Birthday Blog

Birthdays are always a time of reflection and a time of celebration. This year my birthday is not one of those with a "0" behind it, but it does feel like the ending of one phase and the beginning of another. A friend called the phase we baby-boomers are in as "the youth of old age". And, clearly, those 75 million of us born between 1946 and 1964 are having to re-think everything we thought we knew about phases of life. When we were born, life expectancy was 69.6 years old. This year, on the same day, July 22, I had one client turn 100 and another one turn 99. The 99 year old described to me what she saw in the street (filled with horses!) on the day the United States declared victory in World War I. Today she nimbly navigates the internet looking for interesting projects to pursue. And I am just one advisor out of hundreds of thousands. We cannot underestimate the monumental change that increased longevity is having on everything in life.

When social security was started in 1935 the average life expectancy was (guess what?), 65 years old. The program was never intended to supplement income for longer than a few years. Now workers who retire at 65 can expect to be IN retirement for 30, or even 35 years. Our retirement years are now extending as long as our work life. If we do not adjust our thinking about how we save, plan, spend and invest in retirement we may end up in our worst nightmare.

I recently updated my own Retirement Analysis. We run free retirement analyses for all our clients, and those who think they might want to become clients. If you are wondering if you are making the right choices to secure your family’s future, give us a call. We love talking with people about how they can make smart decisions about their financial life.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What year did social security begin making regular monthly payments?

LAST WEEK’S QUESTION:How many days of oil usage does the U.S. hold in its Strategic Petroleum Reserves?
Answer: 59 days