The Reality
A healthy 65-year-old in the UK has a better than even chance of reaching their late eighties. A child born today has a roughly one-in-three chance of reaching 100. Yet most retirement and estate plans are built for a much shorter timeframe.
What Changes
Retirement income — A pension pot designed to last 20 years may need to stretch to 30 or more. The maths shifts dramatically, and many people risk running out of money in later life.
Care costs — Around one in ten over-65s face care costs exceeding £100,000. The government’s planned £86,000 cap has been delayed repeatedly, leaving individuals exposed to potentially unlimited costs.
Estate planning — A will written at 55 may need to serve for 40 years. Family circumstances change, and rigid plans can produce inappropriate outcomes. Trusts provide the flexibility that fixed gifts do not.
Mental capacity — The longer you live, the greater the chance of experiencing reduced capacity. Lasting Powers of Attorney are essential and must be arranged while you still have capacity.
What to Do
- Stress-test your retirement plan — model it to age 95, not 85
- Start gifting early — make the seven-year rule work in your favour
- Build flexibility into your will — use trusts and regular reviews
- Put LPAs in place now — do not wait until they are needed
- Consider care cost insurance — certainty has value
Living longer is a privilege, but only if your financial plan is built for it.
Speak to The Legacy Wills Company about future-proofing your estate plan.