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DW – Business
Take this one-question quiz: How long is a 65-year-old American woman likely to live?
A) I have about 17 years until I’m 82 years old.
B) Approximately 22 years left until 87 years old
C) Approximately 27 years left until 92 years old
Only about one-third of us know the correct answer is B, according to a new report from the TIAA Institute, the research arm of the financial services nonprofit.
Research has found that there is a lack of longevity literacy among American adults, and that knowledge gap has dire consequences for our retirement years.
According to federal life expectancy data, the average American lives approximately 78.4 years.
However, life expectancy increases with age. According to Social Security’s life expectancy calculations, a man who turns 65 today can expect to live another 19.3 years, reaching age 84. A 65-year-old woman will live an average of 21.9 years longer.
The lifespan numbers reported by the CDC, the numbers we learn in school, are calculated at birth. However, lifespan increases from there. Simply put, the longer you live, the longer you live.
Most Americans don’t know how long retirement will last
Not many people understand the basic concept of longevity. As adults, most of us have no idea how much longer we will live. And we tend to guess low.
A TIAA survey of 3,371 adults conducted in January found that only 33% of men and women at age 65 answered correctly to a multiple-choice question about life expectancy. The remaining 32% chose the lower number, 13% chose the higher number and 22% said they did not know.
There is a clear link between how long you live and how long your retirement lasts. People who underestimate their life expectancy tend to make shorter retirement plans. And that can be a costly mistake.
The TIAA study also found that people who underestimated their life expectancy expected to retire relatively quickly. More than half of that group said they expected to live less than 20 years after retirement.
That estimate is also probably too low.
The average American worker retires at age 62, according to research data from the Transamerica Retirement Research Center.
Longevity data shows that a man who retires at age 62 can expect to live about 21 more years. Women can live longer than that.
What is the appropriate term for a retirement plan?
Retirement planners regularly advise their clients to plan for a longer-than-average retirement. why? That’s because your retirement plan should cover all scenarios, including if you or your spouse live to be 95 years old.
“Life expectancy is a fundamental component of retirement planning, but society has avoided making it too long,” said Katherine Collinson, CEO of Transamerica Center.
“The real risk is losing your savings,” Collinson said.
According to research from the Transamerica Center, Americans fear outliving their savings as much as other setbacks that can occur in retirement, such as poor health.
Another 2025 study by Allianz Life Insurance said Americans fear running out of money more than death itself.
In fact, roughly 40% of American households are “at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement” based on their household budget and life expectancy, said Anki Chen, associate director of savings and household finances at the Center for Retirement Research.
Many financial planners expect to retire for 30 years. If you retire at age 62, your plan will cover your expenses until age 92.
Americans who expect retirement to take 30 years or more are more likely to save for retirement and tend to have higher savings rates, according to the TIAA report.
“If people had knowledge about longevity, they would think more about saving, save more, and feel better about the results,” said Surya Koluri, director of the TIAA Institute.
Millennials and Generation X lack longevity literacy
The TIAA survey found that middle-aged Americans, Millennials and Gen Xers, have a particularly poor understanding of longevity. Thirty-six percent of Millennials and 37% of Gen
Men are more likely than women to underestimate their life expectancy, the study found.
Corli suspects that Americans nearing retirement or already retired have a “more discerning” view of longevity. Regarding gender differences, they cited the traditional role of women as caregivers.
“By getting closer to the subject, we can better understand life expectancy,” he says.
Corli said that when Americans underestimate life expectancy, they often rely on subjective measures such as their own health problems or the age at which their parents or grandparents died. However, thanks to medical advances and healthy lifestyles, life expectancy tends to increase with each generation.
“You’re not grandparents,” he said.
