Savings may not be enough to fund retirement beyond life expectancy: study

According to the study, around half of today’s 65-year-old women will reach the age of 90, whilst men will reach 87. Keystone-SDA

Anyone retiring today may have to fund their retirement for considerably longer than previous generations. A study by researchers in Lucerne shows that as life expectancy rises, so does the risk that one’s savings will no longer be sufficient in old age.

Anyone retiring at the age of 65 today should not base their financial planning solely on average life expectancy. A significant proportion of the population has a good chance of spending 25 years or more in retirement. According to a study published on Monday by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), this could lead to a shortage of funds in old age.

“A significant proportion of 65-year-olds today have a realistic chance of living well beyond the average life expectancy. This can become a financial problem,” said Anina Hille, a financial expert at the Institute for Financial Services Zug (IFZ) at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and author of the Longevity Study 2026.

Since the introduction of the old-age pension scheme in 1948, the length of retirement has increased significantly: back then, a 65-year-old woman could expect to live for around 14 more years; today, that figure stands at 23 years. For men, remaining life expectancy has risen from just over 12 years to more than 20 years.

According to the study, around half of today’s 65-year-old women will reach the age of 90, whilst men will reach 87.

A funding gap of millions

A calculation from the study illustrates just how significant the impact of a few extra years of life can be. For a person on an average income, the funding gap between the old-age pension and other pension funds on the one hand and living expenses on the other rises from around CHF728,000 for a life expectancy of 85 years to around CHF921,000 for 90 years. Anyone living to the age of 100 would have to cover around CHF1.32 million from their savings or other sources of income.

The reasons for this trend include medical advances, improved living conditions and rising life expectancy. However, not all of these additional years are spent in good health. Healthcare, care and housing costs can rise significantly, particularly in the final years of life, further increasing financial requirements, the study noted.

An opportunity for the economy

From HSLU’s perspective, private provision is therefore becoming increasingly important. Those who build up their assets early and save for the long term increase their chances of being able to cope financially with even a very long retirement. At the same time, the ageing population is also putting increasing pressure on the old-age pension and other pension funds.

“Longevity” is emerging as one of the defining economic and social structural trends of the 21st century, said financial expert Hille. According to her, whilst “longevity” is attracting increasing attention as an investment theme, it is still in an early stage of development.

Translated from German/sub-editing gw