Old age keeps getting older

How long do you want to live?

Faced with that question, most of us would say, with some variation, “As long as possible.” Would any of us say, “As long as my money holds out”?

Probably not.

It’s great that Americans are living longer, but now that we are, we must figure out — individually and collectively — who is going to foot the bill.

In the fourth and final installment of our Lifestage series, we focus on those 75 and older, a growing segment of the population. Our stories show that on the one hand, we are fascinated with the idea of living a good, long life. On the other, we are terrified of the idea of outliving our money. It is a question that financial advisers are wrestling with as well, changing their retirement models to accommodate the prospect that their clients conceivably could live well into their 90s.

As our series comes to an end, we hope that we’ve offered you some new ideas on who your clients are and what’s on their minds — whether they’re 33 or 93 —and how you can help them reach their financial goals at every stage of their lives.

— Robert Hordt, assistant managing editor