The rich also seem to know that living to 100 is a pricey prospect, one that requires more spending on healthcare, better food, exercise and other services that can lengthen life.
By Bloomberg |
BCCL
Most rich people, however, are counting on living even longer, a lot longer, as in two decades more than average. (Representative Image)
By: Ben Steverman
Money might not buy love, but it can buy better health. And, to live as long as possible, the world’s wealthy are willing to pay up.
Over the past few decades, the average person’s lifespan has risen almost everywhere in the world. In China, the US and most of Eastern Europe, the average life expectancy at birth has reached the late 70s, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. People in Western Europe and Japan, meanwhile, can expect to live into their early 80s.
Most rich people, however, are counting on living even longer, a lot longer, as in two decades more than average. In a new UBS Financial Services survey, 53% of wealthy investors said they expected to live to 100.
The rich also seem to know that living to 100 is a pricey prospect, one that requires more spending on healthcare, better food, exercise and other services that can lengthen life. Also, you have to keep paying for everything that comes from hanging around additional decades. In the UBS survey, which focused on people with more than $1 million in investable assets, 91% said they’re “making financial changes due to increased life expectancy”. Even the wealthy worry about rising healthcare costs, the survey suggests.
The rich are more than willing to sacrifice money for extra longevity.
Nine of 10 wealthy people agreed that “health is more important than wealth”. Asked by UBS how much of their fortune they’d be willing to give up “to guarantee an extra 10 years of healthy life”, the average responses varied by wealth level.
