The Risk of Living Longer

May 2011

Living a long life represents a ... kind of risk, and approximately half the population will live beyond the national life expectancy. Indeed, some will live significantly longer.  These individuals will likely need a larger than normal nest egg to support themselves over their longer lives, so how are they going to build such a nest egg?  They’re unlikely to do so by continually focusing mainly on rare risks—financial earthquakes.  Rather, they need to emphasize the returns earned by a long-term, intel­ligent investing program.  For many investors, that includes stocks.