The benefits of living longer and getting older

We’re taught that getting older is a bad thing. Another birthday comes around, another wrinkle starts to show and another grey hair is found. We’re taught that our bodies get old and stiff, that we’ll get slower and will have faded hearing and creaky joints. And for some people, those things will happen. But there is so much more to ageing that we’re never taught.

The benefits of living longer and getting older are immense and they affect all parts of our lives; our finances, health and leisure. But because we’re so focussed on the negative things, we forget to enjoy the good things. So today we’re going to take a look at some of the reasons to enjoy living longer and getting older.

Working longer means better retirement savings

This has everything to do with the maths of retirement and life expectancy. When life expectancy was 70 we could assume we worked for about 40 years (20-60) and spent 10 years in retirement. That meant that for every four years of work we needed to fund one year of retirement. Now, we are living longer and are healthier for longer so for every additional year of work, we’re making that ratio of work to retirement a lot better. For example, now that we’re physically and mentally able to work for longer and have a life expectancy of around 80, we can assume we work for 50 years (20-70) and enjoy 10 years of retirement. This means that for every five years of work is required to fund one year of retirement making later years of life less of a burden on ourselves.

Working longer means more earning potential

A general trend of employment and salaries is that the longer you’ve worked, the more you’re assumed to know so your earning potential is higher. Having a longer career means that you can spend longer at “the top” and have more time to develop your skills and increase your professional value.

Access to discounts

Although the seniors card often comes under scrutiny for being effective, at the end of the day holders get benefits that they didn’t have access to ten years ago. These include transport, utilities, dining out, entertainment and more.

To find out what discounts you can access through a seniors card, click on your state below.

Here are the website links to the seniors card directories:

• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Australian Capital Territory
• Tasmania
• Northern Territory
• Victoria
• New Zealand

Access to certain free health services

The downside of ageing is that we do have health complications, as we get older. However luckily for us there are several government services that help us to monitor our health closely and have preventative health checks for free. Men and women over 50 have access to preventative checks for different types of cancer and can get extra rebates from health funds for choosing preventative measures.

So next time you’re getting down about living longer and getting older, remember that there really are some great benefits at your disposal to keep you happy and healthy while you’re at it!

Tell us, what do you love about living longer and getting older? Share your thoughts in the comments below…