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o really! By the time you finish reading this, you will not only know the secret to living longer, but you’ll be able to achieve a happier retirement at the same time. I spend a lot of time traveling and always try to download some reading material before every flight. Recently, I was browsing through some research articles and whitepapers when I had an “aha” moment! I found a link between retirement happiness, income, and longevity. Here is how I discovered this secret.

There is a Freakonomics podcast titled How to Live Longer that suggests, “People who buy annuities tend to live longer,” and, “That little extra incentive of the annuity payout…keeps people going.” Knowing I’d receive a guaranteed paycheck for life would certainly make me want to keep kicking! The Towers Watson article Annuities and Retirement Happiness notes, “Annuities provide the biggest satisfaction boost to retirees with less wealth and those in poor health.” You see, retirement happiness is all about alleviating the stress of key risks. Running out of money in retirement is a risk many people fear. However, there is a guaranteed paycheck every month that can completely remove that risk for the rest of your life! It isn’t Social Security. It isn’t a pension. It’s an annuity, and here’s how its guaranteed income completely removes longevity risk from your retirement.

The FRC Whitepaper Income Annuities Improve Portfolio Outcomes in Retirement notes, “Income Annuities offer features others can’t – high cash flow, uncorrelated to market returns; retirement alpha in the form of mortality credits, which only life insurance companies can manufacture; longevity hedging and liquidity features.”

Having a source of guaranteed income is the KEY to retirement happiness. It doesn’t just unlock happiness in retirement but also a longer life! Now, I can’t say that if you go out and buy an annuity, you are going to live longer. BUT, I’ve got to believe that there is something there about those checks coming in every single month, over, and over, and over…and over. The peace of mind it creates must help cultivate a more relaxing environment to enjoy your twilight years.

See you “happily ever after”

-Tom Hegna