One number to predict retirement happiness?

[pullmyfinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Got it: The Death Clock: Calculate your life expectancy today

I love it, it not only told me how old I would be, but also listed the date of my death 8/12/2054! This is the ticket to help figure out my SWR. I will live to be 85 so I can better calculate when to start collecting SS for maximum benefit. If I more accurately represent my attitude - pessimistic vs. neutral it does take away 3 years though, so depending on cash flow I may keep the bad attitude.

Thanks for a fun link!

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Got it: The Death Clock: Calculate your life expectancy today

Loved it. I think I need to start spending a lot more money. The clock is ticking.

[ERD50]

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Originally Posted by LOL! I thought the number to predict retirement happiness was the number of times one had sex every week.

The heck with that, how about the number of times two have sex each week? Or three or more, if you're into that.

-ERD50

[daylatedollarshort]

The thing I found interesting about the calculator is that it takes the ratio of income to expenses into account which is a bit different than just LBYMs. This is something we really started working on these past few years instead of simply saving more money. I usually just see references involving savings in the milestone thread.

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAE The calculator is a joke. I have a glass of red wine every day (which is supposed to be good for health), yet by saying I drink daily, the calculator chops about 9 years off of my life expectancy. Huh? Give me a break.........I'll take my chances, and keep drinking the wine.

It is pretty weird. I adjusted my BMI to <25 (from 30) based on their statement that that is the most important factor. I gained 4 years from that. Then I put the BMI back to 30, but changed the drinking from 2 times/week to never, and gained 9 years. I think whoever developed the calculator is a teetotaler.

I'll stick to my original numbers, an optimistic overweight boozehound. According to the calculator I'm going to die on April 14 2030. So I'm not going to bother doing my taxes that year.

[Lisa99]

Interesting. If I stop drinking and drop BMI 3 points I add 11 years to my life. Goes from 82 (which coincidentally is the age that both paternal grandparents died) to 93.

Curious why BMI doesn't go below 25.

[robnplunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Gotta work that BMI down.

Chuckle. BMI's ok. Having 1 drink per day cuts the lifespan down by quite a bit. I thought a drink a day is healthy (gets one's heart rate up). We can't win.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa99 Interesting. If I stop drinking and drop BMI 3 points I add 11 years to my life. Goes from 82 (which coincidentally is the age that both paternal grandparents died) to 93. Curious why BMI doesn't go below 25.

I am guessing that the source database doesn't distinguish below 25.

Here is one answer from the extensive FAQ:

How do you work out how long I will live?
All our statistics are straight from the*World Health Organisation. This tells us your life expectancy depending on which country you live in, your sex, your lifestyle (BMI, smoking habits) and of course your current age!*

[Bestwifeever]

Alcohol is probably considered a risk factor for accidents--no alcohol, no risk, never mind any studies saying a little is good for you.

I think the bmi menu is stuck-- when I first opened the page, >25 was s choice, but now it is not giving that option, just starting at 25. The fine print at the bottom says "As your BMI is a good indication of a healthy lifestyle it has the biggest effect on your prediction. It is never too late to adapt to healthy living, a diet intake that balances out your physical excersions is the key to weight loss!"

I was surprised not to see parents' longevity considered.

[ejman]

I better mend the error of my ways. I'm currently 64, the calculator says bucket kikin' time is right around the corner at age 71. I should tell my dad - 99 - that he should stop drinking that glass of wine or two he has been drinking for many years since it'll impact his longevity...

[daylatedollarshort]

This research highlighted on a 60 Minutes show on how to live to 90 found that moderately overweight and normal weight seniors along with moderate drinkers actually lived longer:

Want to live to 90? - CBS News

[robnplunder]

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Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort This research highlighted on a 60 Minutes show on how to live to 90 found that moderately overweight and normal weight seniors along with moderate drinkers actually lived longer: Want to live to 90? - CBS News

"Vitamins didn't seem to affect longevity, but alcohol intake did, with people who drank up to two drinks per day having a 10-15 percent reduced risk of death compared to non-drinkers. "A lot of people like to say it's only red wine. In our hands it didn't seem to matter," says Dr. Kawas"


A note to myself ... I should drink more (from one to two drinks per day) .

[Live And Learn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Got it: The Death Clock: Calculate your life expectancy today

There are better calculators but they say that I may live long enough to run out of money. This calculator however says that I can probably spend 3x as much as I think I need.

[tmm99]

Just by changing from Neutral to Optimistic, my longevity extended by over a decade.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Just by changing from Neutral to Optimistic, my longevity extended by over a decade.

Oh yeah. I meant optimistic. But wait, Mr. Grim Reaper...

[braumeister]

Probably better to just emulate my friend's uncle, who knew precisely when he would die. The judge gave him the exact date.

[aja8888]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/number...190700356.html

Nice fish!

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort Caution: This is a light article from Yahoo news I found interesting. Many here don't like it or don't like the snippet I posted with it, so you might waste 30 seconds of your life clicking the article and reading the few paragraphs. That is 30 seconds of your life you will never get back mind you, so think very, very carefully before you click the link because it may not be all that fascinating to you.

I think that THIS comment was more entertaining than the article.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Nice fish!

Agreed! The picture of the guy with the fish was more entertaining thatn the article.

[target2019]

I suppose I might add something relevant to this thread, having posted an very-much off topic post or two.


The article mentioned in the OP was simplistic in deriving a single value from the ratio of income to expenses. Well, it got the advisor quite a few mentions in the fluff news.

While digging into the subject of post-retirement happiness, I found this link to a PDF:

https://ngam.natixis.com/docs/938/58...014_140220.pdf

The title is 2014 Global Retirement Index. The complete PDF is long in page count, but actually a pretty quick read if you don't review all of the country statistics pages (about 50 pages of the total 81 pages).

The firm has selected 20 criteria, and categorized them into 4 sub-indices:
- Health
- Material Well Being
- Quality of Life
- Finances in Retirement

This does seem like a reasonable break-down, and probably provides better basis of how happy you'll be in retirement.

[daylatedollarshort]

I do wonder if retirees with a ratio of 2 or 3 to 1 or better in retirement income to retirement expenses feel more secure than just a simple 1 or better ratio, given similar portfolio sizes.