Health

There is a very good article in Investment News about retirement planning and, more specifically, devising appropriate withdrawal and income strategies in retirement. The author discusses the nature of various income requirements and makes the entirely appropriate point that all income needs are not created equal. For example, travel desires obviously differ from essentials such as food and shelter. There are also different inflationary characteristics that need to be taken into account. Health...

The longevity gap refers to lower longevity rates in the United States relative to other developed countries. Critics of the U.S. healthcare system point to the gap as a characteristic of the flawed health insurance system. However, a recent New York Times article discusses the research of Samuel H. Preston and reveals some of the errors contained in the logic of critics of the U.S. health system. Source: New York Times Full Story

A recent article on retirement planning discusses the profound impact that health events can have on retiree assets. A retirement income study by the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that the association between health and retirement assets is "striking:" People in the bottom 20 percent of the population in terms of their health had median assets only half those of people in the top 20 percent when the research period began in 1994. When it ended 12 years later, the least-healthy...

Forty three percent of retirees consider returning to work after they first retire. The primary factors in this consideration are: Changes in personal finances (42 percent) Increase in health expenses (29 percent) A realization of longevity risk (22 percent) The poll was conducted by the Longevity Alliance and Harris Interactive. Source: U.S. News & World Report Full Story