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December 19, 2021

Do you know what your life expectancy is?

Thanks to healthier lifestyles and breakthroughs in medical technology, life expectancy on this continent  has increased significantly during the past half-century.

AdWhile that's got to be good news, knowing that that you can expect to live longer in retirement also means your investment portfolio may need to last for 30 years or more.

Here, for instance, is the likelihood of 65-year-olds living to certain ages, according to figures from the Society of Actuaries:

Male. A 65-year-old man has roughly a 41% chance of living to age 85 and a 20% chance of living to age 90.  

Female. A 65-year-old woman has about a 53% chance of living to age 85 and a 32% chance of living to age 90.
   
Couple. If the man and woman are married, the chance that at least one of them will live to any given age is increased. In fact, there's a 72% chance that one of them will live to age 85 and a 45% chance that one will live to age 90. 

Click here to estimate the probability of you living to a specific age. Once you're there, you can enter your current age alone — or your and your spouse's current ages — and a number of years to see the chances of living that long.

For a more detailed look, spend five minutes figuring out how many years you may have left — statistically speaking — by doing the math using this calculator.

Have you ever tried to figure out your life expectancy? Does it drive your financial thinking? Given when you hope to retire, how long do you expect to be living off your portfolio?

By Gordon Powers, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...