THE LONGEVITY CONVERSATION|Video 6 of 9

In a survey of over 30,000 users of our LifeSpan Calculator, most chose a confidence level well above 50%, reflecting real appetite for certainty over simple averages. That’s not surprising: a 67-year-old couple has roughly an equal chance of both dying before 90 as of one living to 100. The uncertainty is real, and clients feel it.

Reaching higher confidence through an account-based pension alone typically means saving substantially more, often around 30% more to move from 50% to 90% confidence. Lifetime products solve this differently: by pooling longevity risk across many people, the way insurance pools other risks, they guarantee against running out, without proportionally more savings.

The payoff isn’t just financial. Towers Watson’s analysis of the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, around 26,000 Americans aged 50 and over, found retirees with annuitised income consistently reported higher satisfaction than those without, across every wealth and health group.

Related articles and resources:

• [White Paper] Planning for Retirement with Confidence
• [Blog] Helping Retirees Spend with Confidence
• [Blog] Decision Paralysis and Making Financial Choices for Retirement
• [Blog] Living with Uncertainty

Have you watched the next video in the series?
Watch Video 7: A Smaller Super Balance Doesn’t Have to Mean a Smaller Retirement