People across Europe and the Western world are living longer than ever before. This is likely to be the result of a combination of many factors – for example, good diet, technological and medical advances. and increased access to healthcare.
However, simply moving to a country with high longevity is, in itself, not enough to confer any benefit.
For example, if you move to Spain but eat a \’Full English\’ breakfast every day, followed by fish and chips for lunch and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding for dinner, while all the while smoking 20 cigarettes a day and downing several pints of beer every evening, the Spanish climate and great healthcare is probably not going to help increase your lifespan by a particularly significant amount.
How to live longer in Spain
If you really want to live a long and healthy life in Spain, you need to live like a Spaniard. This is according to the Washington-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which recently released details of a report on how the Spanish will soon sit top of the world longevity tables, outranking even long-time leaders Japan.
One reason for this is the much-lauded Mediterranean diet, including lots of olive oil and fresh fruit and vegetables. Other factors include the Spanish tendency to take long walks, as well as the fact that Spanish couples have a propensity for remaining physically active, even as they get older.
But, increased longevity brings with it some very serious challenges. Foremost among these is the following question: if you are going to live several years or even decades longer than your parents or grandparents, how can you make sure your pensions and savings will provide you with sufficient income to see you through your retirement?
Like most wealth management questions, there is no magic answer. Unless by ‘magic\’ you mean ‘planning\’.
Yes, planning for your retirement is almost certainly the way to give yourself the best chance of success. Starting as early as possible and investing in a diverse portfolio of retirement assets is likely to be the answer for most savers. However, retirement investing can be challenging and, especially for the lay investor, bewildering and frustrating.
The trick is to take financial advice at an early stage. This may be particularly true for UK expats who are enjoying the Spanish lifestyle – so if you are resident in Spain, you should contact your expat financial advisers in Spain for the help you need to intelligently plan for your retirement, including understanding how to structure your investments in Spain.
The above article was kindly provided by Blacktower Financial Management Group and originally posted at: https://www.blacktowerfm.com/news/645-why-living-longer-may-be-a-reason-to-contact-expat-financial-advisers