If you cannot afford to retire yet, you may need to keep yourself healthy enough to continue working. According to a project released by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, of the 39% of individuals around the world who retired sooner than planned, 29% did so because of less than ideal health. In the United States, 61% of retirees overall retired sooner than they intended to, which was the highest rate for every country surveyed.

Those who struggle with their health have a greater chance of intending to work past age 70, but only a portion of those who plan to will be able to stay employed as health risks jeopardize their options.

Up to 17% of those who reported themselves as being in excellent health intended to retire at 70 years or older or not at all. The survey also found that approximately half of employees in the United States were not adopting beneficial behaviors that would allow them to stay healthy and continue working. This is a critical gap when a person chooses to focus on investing time and energy into their employment but not into keeping themselves healthy.

Although genetics certainly does play a role in these issues, part of your health outcomes can be linked with your individual behaviors. There is a double benefit for those individuals who keep good health in the decades leading up to retirement when they do stop working. If they take care of themselves and then save the money that they would have spent on healthcare expenses, they’ll have more money in retirement and their overall healthcare cost and retirement will be less as well.

Ready to talk about planning for your future with the help of a lawyer? Consult with a Massachusetts estate planning attorney today.

 

 

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