Planning for a Healthy Retirement

By Luke Styles –

The time has long gone when retirement meant a few years of relative good health before sickness and impaired mobility resulted in spells of time being hospitalized followed by a lengthy period spent in a retirement home somewhere out in the boonies

Average life expectancy

Today, the average life-expectancy for a US male who is aged 65 today is 84.3, while for women it is 86.6. What this actually means is that 25% of US citizens who are aged 65 today will live beyond 90 and 10% will survive beyond 95. This means that Americans can expect to enjoy between 22 and 30 years of retirement. In other words, anyone leaving work for the last time in 2014 will, with a little luck, spend some 30% of their lives as a retiree.

People are also staying active and healthy for longer than ever. Not too many years ago people aged 65 were considered old, but today everything has changed and it is not unusual to find members of this age group enjoying a lifestyle that would previously have seemed unattainable.

Retirement offers the opportunity to take up new hobbies, sports and other activities. It is a time to travel; perhaps spending weeks or months on vacation and visit friends and family who have previously been seen only rarely due to work commitments.

Retirement planning

Numerous surveys have found that individuals who make plans for retirement live longest and there are a number of key issues to be considered.

Calculate what maintaining the lifestyle enjoyed whilst working will cost and how much needs to be saved in the years between now and retiring. Assume a figure of 75% of final annual income will be required to finance a comfortable retirement. Try to save this amount annually and remember, by starting to save as soon as possible this figure will be significantly reduced.

Invest for the future; for example, government bonds, stocks and property are all popular. Enrolling in a retirement pension scheme should be another priority. Each of these has its pros and cons and the most appropriate course of action will vary from one person to another. The best option is to go and talk to a financial adviser.

Private healthcare insurance is an important consideration; one that should be investigated at an early age. Remember, Medicare only covers around 50% of healthcare costs and as individuals age they will inevitably experience more illnesses and injuries.

In the years prior to retirement individuals should start to think about whether they will remain in their current home, move to another part of the country, a region where the climate is more amenable or where the cost of living is lower. Some will relocate to an entirely different country, either in the Americas or further afield. If emigrating be sure to check out the country’s standards of healthcare, living costs, frequency and cost of flights to and from the USA, visa and entry regulations and any vaccinations that may be required.

Maintaining an active lifestyle

One way of helping ensure a long and happy retirement is to stay active. Once again, the sooner individuals embark on a fitness regimen the better; it is easier to maintain a reasonable level of fitness over an entire lifetime than it is to put it off until a physician warns of impending doom unless action is taken. Similarly, maintaining a healthy diet from youth is more preferable than being advised to take a crash diet later in life when weight related issues appear.

Walking a few miles each day, cutting out smoking, reducing alcohol intake and eating healthily will all increase life expectancy and reduce the chances of suffering a myriad of age related ailments.

Age related health issues

There are certain ailments that tend to afflict the ageing. The most common being:

• Bones and joints – osteoporosis and arthritis
• Brain – memory loss and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Circulatory – heart attack and stroke
• Dental – gum diseases
• Digestion – gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Eyes – presbyopia, cataracts, retinal problems and glaucoma
• Hearing – tinnitus and presbycusis
• Metabolic – diabetes
• Skin – shingles, dryness and skin cancer
• Urogenital – prostate cancer, incontinence and benign prostatic hypertrophy

Medical knowledge has progressed to the point where most, if not all of these ailments are now readily treatable.

Retirement communities

There are retirement villages in all parts of the country and more and more retirees are choosing to spend their ‘golden years’ living in them. There are a number of benefits to this style of living.

• Most communities have a variety of accommodation options; houses/apartments for retirees who are able-bodied, apartments for those who are slightly less mobile and assisted living accommodation for residents who require 24hr care.

• Retirement communities have permanently-manned healthcare centers onsite, extensive fitness and activity programs, entertainment and outings to cultural events such as the theatre and museums, etc.

• Residents enjoy a full and vibrant social-life, which has proven to be one of the key elements of prolonging life-expectancy.

US residents who are due to retire shortly can look forward to spending their ‘golden years’ enjoying their new found freedom doing all the things they never had the time for whilst working. They are more likely to stay healthier for longer and be more active than ever, well into their 70s and 80s.

Luke Styles is a reputable freelance writer with a passion for helping others. He is often found writing in his garden studio whilst watching the world go by.