MY LAST CLOSE relative—other than my kids—recently experienced major health issues. That prompted me to reflect on my own potential longevity. I’ve got 7,000 days to go, more or less, or at least that’s what the Social Security Administration’s life expectancy calculator tells me.
It seems like a big number, but it’s less than 20 years and just a quarter of a U.S. male’s average 29,000-day lifespan. Each day in retirement, we get to decide how to utilize one of those precious remaining days—whether to use it wisely or possibly fritter it away.

WHEN SHOULD YOU claim Social Security? The optimum date for starting retirement benefits is the subject of much debate and analysis. For most people, however, it’s a simple matter of when they need the cash—and, indeed, many folks claim as soon as they’re age 62 and eligible. The experts can run models all they want. But when it comes to Social Security, it seems necessity and emotion rule.
One thing is clear, though: There’s no validity to taking your benefits as soon as possible,

I CONSIDER MYSELF a retirement newbie. I only quit fulltime work in May 2018. Still, it doesn’t take long to pick up a few things about life in retirement. Here are four insights I’ve gained over the past year and a half:
1. It’s important to have a plan. I have witnessed how some retirees, without a plan or direction, struggle to fill the empty time. Here in Spain, for some retirees it can become an endless Groundhog Day cycle of daily drinking and tapas hopping.

HOW DO DEFERRED income annuities work and how do they fit into a retirement portfolio? I’m a fan of DIAs—sometimes also called longevity insurance—because of their simplicity and range of benefits. Indeed, I sell them through the insurance website I run. But I also realize they aren’t for everyone.
With a DIA, you hand over a lump sum to an insurer in exchange for regular income payments. Like a standard lifetime income annuity, the payments are guaranteed,

AS I GROW OLDER, I realize how important money and good health are. If we have sufficient income to pay our retirement expenses and if our health remains good, we have the makings of something very special.
What is that special thing? It’s the ability to be independent—to live the life we’ve always lived with few limitations. We can continue to live in our home, drive our car, visit our friends and cook our meals.

WHENEVER I TELL people I’m an actuary, I often get the same response: “So you’re the guy who can tell me when I’ll die.” It was funny the first couple of times I heard it, but less so a few dozen occasions later.
Still, the comment is a good reminder of a key statistics principle: Probabilities work well for large groups, but are less useful for smaller sample sizes. Statistics help actuaries predict the number of deaths for a large population.

SOCIAL SECURITY remains a great mystery to many Americans and is widely misunderstood. For instance, when Social Security’s trustees release their annual report, we get vastly different interpretations. One group will read the report and conclude there’s a “surplus” and plenty of money to improve benefits. Meanwhile, another concludes that the program is in fiscal trouble and fixing it is vital.
Headlines frequently state the program is going bankrupt. It isn’t. Today’s level of benefits may not be sustainable,

INCOME ANNUITIES ARE a simple, cost-efficient way to generate guaranteed retirement income, and yet they account for just 5% of overall annuity sales. My contention: They can play a unique role in a portfolio—and deserve serious consideration by anyone planning for retirement.
When most people hear the word “annuity,” they cringe, and rightfully so. Over 95% of the annuity market is made up of tax-deferred variable and fixed annuities—investment products that are often complicated and expensive.

I VISUALIZED a retirement far different from the one I’ve experienced. Before I quit the workforce, I thought my retirement would be a carefree life where I could do what I want, when I want. I could work, travel, sleep all day. There would be few limits. Why? I had no money issues and few responsibilities.
Today, that seems like a dream. Since retiring, I realize my retirement is constantly changing. Unexpected events and expenses can derail the best-laid plans.

WERE YOU BORN between 1950 and 1953, have been or are currently married, and haven’t yet filed for Social Security benefits? There’s a loophole you may want to take advantage of—before it disappears.
For couples, settling on the right strategy for claiming Social Security benefits is critically important, because it affects the size of each spouse’s benefit or spousal benefit, as well as the survivor benefit. But the payoff can be especially large for the group I’m discussing here—those born between 1950 and 1953.

WHILE FINANCES ARE critically important to retirement, it wasn’t the biggest challenge that my wife and I faced. Instead, when I quit the workforce two years ago, a stranger moved into our house.
It was me.
For the prior two years, I had worked in Texas, while my family remained in Maryland, so my son could complete high school there. Even before my temporary Texas move, I worked longish hours, traveled overseas regularly and had lengthy daily commutes.

FOR ME AND MANY other older baby boomers, the traditional retirement model doesn’t work. We’re healthier and living longer than prior generations. Most of us don’t want to sit in a rocking chair, gaze at the sunset, play golf continuously, eat boring lunches at the senior center or live like we’re on vacation every single day.
Instead, we want to remain relevant, with meaning and purpose in our lives, and we want to continue to learn and grow.

I’VE BEEN RETIRED for a decade. During that time, I have often wondered what it would be like to live somewhere else. Europe, with its rich history, seems like an exciting option. If not Europe, why not move to another part of the country, like Old Town Alexandria in Virginia? Rachel has a son and sister living in the area. We’d be close to Washington, D.C., and other interesting new places.
As I ponder that question,

FOR THE BETTER PART of 40 years, I spent a great deal of time helping thousands of workers prepare for retirement. We ran seminars for workers and spouses on topics like retirement income, insurance, lifestyle, relocation and more. I think it’s fair to say that, if someone took advantage of the programs offered, they would have been well prepared financially and emotionally for retirement.
Sadly, relatively few workers utilized all that was available to them—this despite the support and urging of the unions that represented them.

GLOBAL LIFE expectancy for almost every nation will rise during the next two decades, with Spain overtaking Japan as the country with the longest life expectancy. Meanwhile, on the list of 195 countries, the U.S. will fall 20 places, from 43rd to 64th. The average U.S. lifespan as of birth is still projected to increase slightly, from 78.7 years to 79.8, but at a slower rate than the rest of the world.
That isn’t great news for the U.S.—but it isn’t necessarily bad news for you,