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Life Expectancy Calculator

Use our free life expectancy calculator to get a better grasp of the years ahead.

Matthew Jones Matthew Jones Writer and Editor
Jeff Hoyt Jeff Hoyt Editor in Chief

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Why You Should Calculate Your Life Expectancy

As you age, the risk of death increases. While it may not be a pleasant thought, it’s the reality of life. Rather than simply hoping that you live as long as possible, it’s a good idea to calculate your estimated life expectancy. Knowing how long you’re likely to live (barring any unforeseen events) can help you create a more nuanced plan for your life.

Here are just a few things that our life expectancy calculator can help you do:

Did You Know?

Did You Know? The average life expectancy in the United States is 73.5 for men and 79.3 for women.1

Your age can have a major impact on the way you live and what choices you make before and during retirement. If you anticipate living for another 30 years, you’ll want to make sure that you have the savings and retirement income to cover it. On the other hand, if your life expectancy is only a few remaining years, you’ll likely prioritize getting your affairs in order, ensuring that you can leave something for your loved ones. In either case, having an idea of your life expectancy now can help you make the right decisions for yourself and your family.

What Factors Can Affect Your Lifespan?

There are dozens of factors that can affect your lifespan, but your current age and gender are the two most important components. When calculating things like insurance rates and annuity payouts, companies and regulatory agencies often use actuarial life calculations. The Social Security Administration provides a detailed table of actuarial life spans every year. These calculations not only provide you with your estimated life expectancy based on your gender and current age, but also the probability of death within a year.2 However, these tables aren’t very easy to read and interpret, which is why it’s much easier to use a life expectancy calculator.

Pro Tip:

Pro Tip: Worried about how you’re going to fund a long retirement? Check out our guide to finances for seniors for help!

It’s also important to remember that life expectancy estimates are based on probabilities. Other factors that can affect your life expectancy include:

  • Diet
  • Lifestyle and activity levels
  • Sleep routine
  • Smoking habits
  • Drinking habits
  • Family health history
  • Socioeconomic status

This means that it’s never an exact science, and you shouldn’t let the results of the calculations make you worry. Instead, use the results to plan your life and retirement accordingly.

How to Interpret Your Life Expectancy Results

When you use our life expectancy calculator, you only have to input two pieces of information:  your gender and current age. With this information, we calculate the approximate number of years you have left. Remember, this is just an estimate based on averages, so don’t be disheartened if the results aren’t as positive as you hoped!

Pro Tip:

Pro Tip: Check out our guide to senior health and wellness to learn about the ways you can stay on top of your health as you age.

Once you click “Calculate,” you’ll be presented with a line graph. The x-axis (horizontal axis) shows your age in years, while the y-axis (vertical axis) shows the number of years you potentially have left. You’ll see a dot at the point where your current age and the “years left” merge. Hovering over this dot will show you the exact number you’re looking for.

It’s important to understand that your results are based on years of data analysis related to the life spans of men and women. It is not a diagnosis, prognosis, or official confirmation of any kind. You should look at these results as a general guidepost for your future.

FYI:

FYI: Learn more about life expectancy in the United States by checking out our average life expectancy statistics page. We’ve covered the data by state for a closer look at how certain factors affect life expectancy.

FAQs About Life Expectancy

Are you a journalist or researcher looking for data or expertise to support your work?

Are you a journalist or researcher looking for data or expertise to support your work? See our open data portal, or reach out to us at open-data@seniorliving.org to connect with an expert on aging in America.

Citations
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Life Expectancy.

  2. Social Security Administration. (2023). Actuarial Life Table.

  3. CNBC News. (2023). These are the 10 best states in the U.S. for a long, healthy life—California didn’t make the top 5.

Written By:
Matthew Jones
Writer and Editor
Matthew is a freelance writer who has written on a wide range of topics, from personal finance to nutrition. Over the past three years, Matthew has worked extensively on articles and guides for seniors related to Medicare, insurance, and finance…. Learn More About Matthew Jones
Reviewed By:
Jeff Hoyt
Editor in Chief
As Editor-in-Chief of the personal finance site MoneyTips.com, Jeff produced hundreds of articles on the subject of retirement, including preventing identity theft, minimizing taxes, investing successfully, preparing for retirement medical costs, protecting your credit score, and making your money last… Learn More About Jeff Hoyt
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