This chart, which shows life expectancy among insured 60-year-old females, is remarkable in several ways. First, it reveals that female life expectancy in Canada is generally longer than most people realize. In the baseline case, a woman – with good health, weight and lifestyle habits – can expect to live until 92. In certain professions where early retirement is the norm, such as teaching, it means the average worker will typically spend more years in retirement than they did working. Second, it appears that certain key lifestyle habits – including diet and alcohol – have surprisingly little impact on life expectancy. The same is true even in the case of high stress and obesity. On the other hand, these factors increase the chances of diabetes, stroke or cardiovascular disease, in which case life expectancy could be significantly shortened. It is important to note that the women in the chart are assumed to be non-smokers. In the case of regular smokers, all life spans would be four to five years shorter than is shown.
Frederick Vettese is former chief actuary of Morneau Shepell and author of Retirement Income for Life.
