The Number 1 Retirement Worry of Today

Over 4 million people will retire this year.  That’s nearly 11,000 per day!  And nearly 9 out of 10 of them all have the same worry: “Will I out outlive my money?”[i]  Many accountants and financial planners run financial models to assure their clients that they will have the money they need to meet future needs.  But these models have proven uncertain and even foolish because nobody can predict the future.

And that brings up the next worry of those in retirement or pre-retirement mode today.  Health.  “What if you or your spouse get:

• Dementia
• Alzheimer’s
• Health issues that need in home health care
• Health issues that need full time assisted living
• Disabled and need long term skilled nursing

These worries are real, not imaginary, as more than “9 out of 10 older adults has more than one chronic health condition”[ii] and “skilled nursing needs increased almost threefold, from 28 to 80 per 1,000”[iii] in less than 16 years.  In fact, over “1.3 million Americans now live in nursing homes”[iv].

But these statistics are shallow at best because “More than 3 out of 5 adult seniors who need assisted living rely exclusively on family and friends for their assistance.”[v]  And that means that out living your money in retirement is a serious concern and one not to be taken lightly.

Saving today in order to have more for tomorrow is not necessarily the solution to this problem either.  The low interest rates and inflation that constantly erodes away the value of your savings isn’t something that is imaginary either.  A dollar you saved in 1990 would have to had grown by more than 100% to match the devaluation of your savings due to inflation.  That certainly compounds the worry about out living your money.

So, what can you do to prepare adequately for the time you can’t and won’t be able to work as long and as hard as you do today?

Even though saving might not be the total solution to this dilemma, it is the beginning of the solution.

Saving more where you can get guaranteed growth and access to your savings without penalty or loss of growth is essential if you are to beat this common worry.  And there is no other place as safe or as secure as participating whole life insurance to park your savings.  That is because participating whole life insurance allows you to leverage your own policy without losing the benefits of the growth in that policy. Besides, most states provide protection of your cash values if you do need long term health care or assisted living. Furthermore, money you access from your participating whole life insurance can be used tax free now and in your future retirement, allowing you to keep control of your money.  Finally, participating whole life insurance in a natural hedge against inflation which is critical if you want to make sure the value of your savings isn’t eroded away by this insidious hidden form of taxation.

Can participating whole life insurance completely eliminate your worries about out living your money?  No, nothing can do that because nobody knows the future.  But it sure can help reduce the risk of you actually running out of money before you run out living and that is why it is so valuable.

[i] http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2016/oct/americans-fear-running-out-of-retirement-money-201615242.html

[ii] Institute on Aging: https://www.ioaging.org/aging-in-america

[iii] Ibid

[iv] Ibid