Weekend Reading: Five Ways to Manage the Longevity Risk in Retirement

This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
Weekend reading managing longevity risk Weekend reading managing longevity risk
Weekend Reading

We’re all in the midst of a longevity revolution, but in order to make the most of a potential 100-year life, it’s important to prioritize quality over length.

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Live long and prosper: If you’re going to live past your life expectancy, you certainly want those years to be fulfilling, and building a retirement plan in preparation for that can help alleviate uncertainty surrounding your longevity. Past Retire With Purpose podcast guest, Steve Parrish, highlights five factors to focus on here. They include:

📌 Social Security: One way to account for longevity risk is to delay filing for Social Security benefits (ideally until age 70); however, this requires supplementing with other income sources until then, which might include tapping your IRA, utilizing an annuity or taking out a reverse mortgage.

📌 Annuities: These investment vehicles are designed to lock in retirement income for life, but determining which product could best supplement your portfolio begins with consulting a professional.

📌 Long-term care insurance: Roughly half to two-thirds of older Americans will require long-term care at some point, which is why long-term care insurance is so important to help absorb the steep costs that can come along with that.

📌 Investment strategies: There comes a time when your stockpiled savings inside a 401(k) or IRA must be put to use. Strategically withdrawing and growing that money is key to a sustainable retirement income.

📌 Medicaid: If financial resources are limited, Medicaid can act as a safety net to help cover the costs of housing and medical care as you age.

Prioritize longevity planning: There are dozens of ways for you to insulate your life savings against the risk of outliving it. Take a diversified approach. Doing nothing isn’t an option.