Longevity Risk: The 91-Year-Old Who Scared Her Whole Family…

Most retirement plans don't fail on day one — they fail in the middle, ten or fifteen years in, when it's too late to go back to work. In this episode of The Retirement Risk Show, host Dave Hall breaks down longevity risk, the retirement risk he ranks as the single biggest threat to a happy retirement in his book Getting Safely Through Retirement.

Dave starts with the story of a 91-year-old woman whose family called a police welfare check after she went two days without answering the phone — only to find she'd been fine the whole time, just too absorbed in a video game to check in. That story sets up the real topic: why the "average life expectancy" number you'll find online (around 79) is misleading once you've actually made it to 65, and why a healthy retired couple should be planning for one spouse to live into their 90s, not their late 70s.

From there, Dave explains why longevity isn't just one risk among many — it's a multiplier that makes inflation risk, market risk, and withdrawal risk worse with every extra year you live. He covers the retirement planning gap nobody talks about, the "independence illusion" that convinces retirees they're fine right up until they're not, how long-term care risk fits into the picture, and the silent tradeoff between overspending and underspending that traps most retirees who don't have a real plan. The episode closes with a practical framework: guaranteed income, built-in flexibility, reserves for the unexpected, and giving every asset in your portfolio a specific purpose.

If you're within a decade of retirement, already retired, or helping a parent plan for the years ahead, this episode will change how you think about how long your money actually needs to last.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Getting Safely Through Retirement by Dave Hall — available at https://www.gstrbook.com/info
Learn more or schedule a consultation at https://www.retirementriskadvisors.com

New episodes of The Retirement Risk Show release weekly, covering the risks that actually derail retirement plans — longevity, inflation, market risk, sequence-of-returns risk, taxes, and long-term care — and how a holistic retirement plan addresses all of them together. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

Investment advisory services offered through Alphastar Capital Management LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Fixed insurance products are offered through Retirement Risk Advisors, and Alphastar Capital Management is not involved with the offer, recommendation, sale, or management of commission-based fixed insurance products. Alphastar Capital Management and Retirement Risk Advisors are separate and independent entities. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice, or a recommendation of any particular security, investment product, or investment strategy.

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram: @retirementriskadvisors
Like us on Facebook: Retirement Risk Advisors