How long does your cash need to last? 4 ways to avoid running out of money in retirement (2024)

How long will you live? How long does your money need to last?

Unfortunately, it's impossible to answer those questions. "We don't know how long (our) money needs to last because we don't know how long we'll live," says Michael Finke, a professor of wealth management at The American College of Financial Services.

And not surprisingly, the fear of running out of money is one of older Americans' greatest concerns, according to a 2019 Aegon Center for Longevity study.

To be fair, we do have a sense of how long people live on average. In 2018, life expectancy for men at age 65 was 18.1 years, and for womenat age 65 it was 20.7. But those numbers are of little help when it comes to the number that matters most – how long you will live.

Retirement rule changes 2020: What you need to know about 401(k) plans and IRAs as the year ends amid COVID-19

So, what then are the best ways to manage what experts refer to as longevity risk–the risk of outliving your money?

1. Work longer

The longer you work, the more you can save toward retirement and the shorter the period of retirement you have to fund, says Sita Slavov, a professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.That can go a long way toward managing and mitigating the risk of running out of money.

Timing is key: Does it really matter when I contribute to my retirement accounts?

It's especially helpful, Slavov says, if someone can use the income for living expenses while they delay claiming Social Security.

2. Social Security

Social Security, which promises to pay most Americans a specified amount of income for life, “could be considered the best longevity insurance money can buy," says Joe Elsasser, president of Covisum.

Three reasons why:

• It's tax-privileged. Under current tax law, at least 15% of each payment comes through tax-free, Elsasser says. "Compare that to a nonqualified single premium immediate annuity where 100% of payments after basis has been returned become taxable as ordinary income," he says.
• It's inflation-adjusted. Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, which has averaged 1.7% ayear over the past decade.
• It's cheaper than other forms of longevity insurance.

To be sure, Social Security is meant to replace only a portion of your pre-retirement income. On average, Social Security will replace about 40% of your pre-retirement income. But there is at least one thing you can do to increase your Social Security benefit and possibly that of your surviving spouse: Wait to claim until age 70 if possible, orif not 70, for as long as possible.

Before the year ends: Here are 3 Social Security moves to make

You or your spouse?Who's claiming Social Security benefits first?

Doing so will provide you with the highest possible benefit based on your earnings history and one that will provide the highest benefit possible after COLAs are made each year.

3. Annuities

Annuities, of which there are many different types, also promise to pay a specified amount of income for life. Immediate payout annuities, for instance, "can be useful for retirees because they maximize the amount of guaranteed lifetime income available from a sum of money," according to the Society of Actuaries.

Whether an annuity is right for you depends on your own circ*mstances.

What's an annuity, should you buy one?: It depends on these 3 factors

But one thing annuities offer that most other investments and products don't is something called mortality credits.

Mortality credits, according to AnnuityFYI, are created when people die sooner than expected and don't receive as many income payments as they would have if they had lived their full life expectancy. That money goes into a pool that will then pay lifetime income to those people who live longer than their life expectancy.

"Annuitization allows us to build an income to about the average age of longevity," Finke says. "This allows us to live better each year without the risk of running out."

For his part, purchasing what are called deferred income annuities and qualifying longevity annuity contracts or QLAC is "easy way to cut off the risk of running out of money," Finke says. "Buying a lifetime income through a deferred annuity that starts at age 80 or 85 can make retirement income planning much easier because you always know that you'll have a base income that won't run out in old age. Most of us economists are big fans of the tax-advantaged QLACs because they give you a tax break from avoiding required minimum distributions and annuitization when it is most valuable."

4. Reverse mortgage

A reverse mortgage is a loan that allowshomeowners who are generally 62 or older to use part of their home equity to obtain cash proceeds that can be used in many ways, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.

Among other things, a reverse mortgage grows in credit capacity as the homeowner ages, says Shelley Giordano, the founder of the Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "So, in a sense, a reverse mortgage is an ideal vehicle to address longevity challenges."

Video investigation: Many reverse mortgages in Puerto Rico are failing

Whether the reverse mortgage is configured as debt in the form of draws, or an unused line of credit, or more typicallya combination of the two, Giordano says, “a reverse mortgage can help smooth out turbulence in a long retirement.”

Robert Powell, CFP, is the editor of TheStreet’s Retirement Daily (www.retirementdaily.net) and contributes regularly to USA TODAY. Have questions about money? Email Bob at rpowell@allthingsretirement.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.