When you are deciding when to start receiving retirement benefits, one important factor to take into consideration is how long you might live.
According to data we compiled:
- A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.0.
- A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 86.5.
And those are just averages. About one out of every three 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and about one out of seven will live past age 95.
Want to know your life expectancy? You can use our simple Life Expectancy Calculator to get a rough estimate of how long you (or your spouse) may live. Knowing this information can help you make a more informed choice regarding when to collect Social Security retirement benefits.
After you use our Life Expectancy Calculator, other great planning steps are:
- visit the Retirement Estimator to get estimates of your future benefits;
- use the Quick Calculator to get a rough estimate of your benefits in today's dollars or future dollars;
- select your birth year in the Retirement Age Calculator to find your full retirement age; and
- read When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits to learn more about the factors you should consider when making a decision about when to start collecting benefits.