Financial planning. We are all suppose to be doing it. Are you?
Posted By RichC on April 10, 2018
While reading a bit this past week about retirement savings and planning, it really hit home when realizing just how lifespans have 
changed in the past 100+ years.
Did you know:
•In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years. Only 100,000 Americans lived to age 85.
•By 2010, the number of people over 85 years old had grown to 5.5 million and was one of the fastest-growing segments of our population.
•By 2030, as the last baby boomers turn 65, older adults are expected to reach 20% of the population, and by 2050, 19 million people will be in the 85+ age group.
Shocking numbers living past 90 years old … considering that FoxBusiness reported that the average person nearing age sixty has only been able to save $100K for their retirement (excluding Social Security and any pension they might have coming). At today’s cost of living and expected longevity, that is not going to last very long … especially if faced with a medical emergency.
An article posted in MarketWatch by Mark Jaeger had an interesting take on dividing life into quarters (nice and simple … until you have to implement! HA!)
Most traditional financial planning tends to focus on achieving goals throughout life, culminating in something called retirement. But planning for what happens and what you want to do during retirement is often lacking. The word “retire” actually means to withdraw or retreat, which may have been the case after age 65 many decades ago, but that is the opposite of what most people reaching 65 today want to do.
Picture your life in overlapping 25-year time spans: birth to 25; age 10 to 35; 20 to 45; and 30 to 55. Consider how much you grew and changed during each of those periods. Now imagine the life you will live between 65 and 90, assuming that much of that time you will be relatively healthy and productive. This period is increasingly becoming known as the longevity dividend or longevity bonus, an exciting time that past generations have not had. This longevity dynamic changes the way we must view retirement and how we will live.
Now let’s divide your life into 4 “quarters” of about 25 years each.
The first quarter’s milestones tend to be triggered by specific ages: your first birthday, starting school, getting a driver’s license, being allowed to vote, and beginning to figure out who you are as you become established in your 20s.
