Longevity Planning
Retirement is often associated with approaching the finish line of life; however in reality living to 100 years old is progressively more common. Half of Canadians aged 20 today will live to age 90 and 10 per cent are expected to reach 1001. Case in point, my grandfather recently passed away at the age of 98.
It is human instinct to want to live as long as possible. But what is your quality of life if you are sedentary and living alone in a small room with minimal care? A couple of years ago, Raymond James Financial partnered with The MIT AgeLab to explore the financial challenges associated with living longer. Founded in 1999, The MIT AgeLab is a multidisciplinary research program that works with business, government and NGOs to improve the quality of life of older people and those who care for them.2
The AgeLab’s goal is to invent new ideas and creatively translate technologies into practical solutions that improve people’s health and enable them to “do things” through the lifespan. In particular, the AgeLab believes that longevity planning is a concept that requires holistic thinking. For example, if a new technology such permanent lightbulbs is invented, but few people can afford it, what’s the point? That’s where we come in. Raymond James has partnered with the AgeLab to address the financial implications of living longer.
“What quality of life do I want to live when retire?”, “Who will change my lightbulbs when I can no longer climb a ladder?”, “What type of estate do I want to leave my family when I die?” These are all questions that Canadians will need to ask themselves as they start planning for future. Canadians have added 25 years to their lifespan in the last century, thus the term “retirement” is slowly being replaced by the term “longevity”.
Often people are uncomfortable and reluctant to discuss health and more specifically death. However, given the increasing rates of life expectancy, it is crucial to have this conversation with your financial advisor in order to plan for a long and high quality life. According to Statistics Canada, for Canadians born in 2011, the average life expectancy is 81.7 years, an increase of almost 25 years since 1921. It is essential to create a financial plan that includes this new reality.
Key strategies from the 53rd
- Build competencies in the key “Quality of Life” issues by leveraging our “Lessons from the MIT AgeLab” initiative.
- Work with Wealth Management Solutions to provide holistic retirement, financial and estate planning services for your clients at no cost to them.
- Partner with local resources such as Medcan Clinic (http://www.medcan.com/), ElderCaring (http://eldercaring.ca/) or the Long Term Care Planning Network (ltcplanningnetwork.com) to address important issues such as healthcare, housing, transportation and more.
