Longevity

Large quantities of fruits and vegetables and an hour of exercise per day. According to David Murdoch, diet and exercise are the keys to longevity. Murdoch, 86, is the Chairman and Owner of the Dole Food Company. Murdoch shares his views in detail in a recent blog post. Also discussed in the post are Murdoch's views on 33 of "the healthiest foods on earth," which also happen to be mainstays of his diet. Source: Huffington Post Full Story

A very good article discusses Vanguard Founder John Bogle's views and work on the retirement system in the United States. Bogle is a highly vocal critic of the status quo: "Our nation's system of retirement security is imperiled, headed for a serious train wreck.That wreck is not merely waiting to happen; we are running on a dangerous track that is leading directly to a serious crash that will disable major parts of our retirement system." There are some interesting and surprising statistics:...

How much do I need to save for retirement? How do I plan for retirement? Both are pretty basic questions that are top of mind for most people who are at or approaching retirement age, and the uncertainty and anxiety around these questions have only increased in light of the financial crisis. A recent article lists 5 risks that should be on the radar of anyone contemplating retirement: Inflation Longevity risk Market risk Health problems and expenses Losing a job or unexpected retirement Source...

Forbes magazine publishes a relatively new section called "Forbes Woman" that is dedicated to issues affecting professional and executive women. A recent column discusses financial planning and the need to consider longevity risk when constructing a portfolio--particularly in light of recent capital market volatility . Longevity risk is especially relevant to women since their life expectancies are longer than men. In addition, many women find themselves solely responsible for their family...

Corporate pension plans face the real risk of having their plan participants live longer than what is projected by actuaries. In other words, similar to an individual who considers an annuity to offset the risk of outliving their assets in retirement, pension plans must deal with longevity risk . A new derivatives market is evolving to deal with longevity risk on an institutional scale. Many of the deals thus far have been between investment banks such as JP Morgan and insurance companies that...