“And in the end it is not the years in your life that counts, it’s the life in your years.”

Abraham Lincoln

Lifespan

When we create financial plans for clients, we typically use a ‘mortality’ date of age 99 which reflects the fact that our clients are living longer. According to the Office for National Statistics:

A 20 year old woman has an average life expectancy of age 89, a one in four chance of living to age 97 and a one in ten chance of living to age 101.
A 40 year old woman has an average life expectancy of age 87, a one in four chance of living to age 96 and a one in ten chance of living to age 100.
A 60 year old woman has an average life expectancy of age 87, a one in four chance of living to age 94 and a one in ten chance of living to age 98.
A 70 year old woman has an average life expectancy of age 88, a one in four chance of living to age 94 and a one in ten chance of living to age 98.

Source: ONS Life Expectancy Calculator

Most people tend to underestimate how long they think they are going to live for and so part of our role is to design financial planning strategies that can stand the test of time and to ensure that clients remain comfortable throughout their lives.

Health Span

Whilst increased longevity is a good thing, it is important that we take into account health span.

According to an article in Nature Magazine, ‘Longevity Leap: Mind the Health Span Gap’ by Armin Garmany, Satsuki Yamada and Andre Terzic (23/09/2021), there is a recognized gap between lifespan i.e. the total life lived and health span i.e. the period free from disease. This health span – lifespan gap is estimated at around 9 years globally.

The four most common conditions that affect health in later life are:

Cardiovascular diseases;
Cancer;
Diabetes; and
Chronic respiratory diseases.

The report explains that around 58% of chronic disease-related mortality occurs in persons over 70 years of age and addressing modifiable risk factors, namely excess weight, physical inactivity, smoking and poor diet would prevent 80% of deaths from non-communicable diseases.

Blue Zones

So how do we ensure that we live a long and healthy life? Perhaps we should look at people who live in the world’s Blue Zones for inspiration.

According to Dan Buettner at www.bluezones.com, there are five areas in the world which have the highest life expectancy or who have the highest proportion of people who reach age 100. These five places are:

Barbagia region of Sardinia.
Ikaria, Greece.
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.
Okinawa, Japan.
Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California.

In tandem with National Geographic magazine, Dan Buettner and his researchers sought to identify the factors each of these regions or groups of people had in common. They identified nine common factors as follows:

Move naturally – they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.
Purpose – they have a purpose – according to Dan Buettner’s research, knowing your purpose can add seven years of additional life expectancy.
Downshift – the longest lived people have routines to shed stress.
80% Rule – people in the Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and then they don’t eat for the rest of the day. Furthermore, they eat until they are 80% full.
Plant slant – most centenarian diets in the Blue Zone consist of plant based whole foods especially beans.
Wine@5 – people in Blue Zones (except Seventh Day Adventists) drink alcohol moderately and regularly with moderate drinkers generally outliving non-drinkers.
Belong – most centenarians in Blue Zones belong to some faith-based community.
Loved ones first – centenarians in Blue Zones put their families first; aging parents/ grandparents live nearby, they commit to a life partner and invest time and love in their children.
Right tribe – the world’s longest lived people chose, or were born into, social circles that supported healthy behaviours.

Lifestyle Financial Planning

As Lifestyle Financial Planners, we help our clients identify, achieve and maintain their desired lifestyles and we sincerely hope that our clients live long and healthy lives so they can enjoy their desired lifestyle to the fullest.

If you would like to explore your desired lifestyle, please do contact us.

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