When it comes to savings, investing and retirement planning there is one fact that needs to be taken into account more than any other today; people are living much longer than they used to. Not only living, but enjoying life and being able to physically, as well as mentally, do the things that regular people do. The fact is, a scant 50 years ago an ‘old person’ was someone who was over 60. Today, there are 60-year-old mountain bikers, surfers and marathon runners.

With that in mind one thing that every person planning for retirement should be openly discussing with their family is that, since they will need to support themselves for more years, they will need more money to do so. But do you have it? Have you set up the retirement funds accordingly? Not only money, but health insurance as well because, frankly, no matter who you are or what you do we are all human and at one point the human body inevitably begins to break down.

If we’re being frank (and any talk about retirement, savings and life or death should be) the simple fact is that you must take a very close and thorough look at your insurance and make sure that you not only have enough to cover your needs but enough to keep you alive. Having insurance that will pay for your funeral is all good and well but what if you or your spouse lived for a long time with a debilitating disease?

Any talk about retirement and insurance also must include a frank discussion about how you are going to pay for health care after you retire, keeping in mind that retiring before Medicare benefits kick-in will require you to pay if you get injured or sick. This is only for the countries that have health care for retirees. Others need to make provisions on their own. Planning to get a Medicare benefit post retirement would be very expensive, even more if you already have a pre-existing-condition. Long term care or Critical Illness insurance is thus something that must be looked into and whoever your insurance professional is should help you with determining what you need and how to finance it. Best done in the early earning years when you are healthy.

One of the biggest problems that retired couples face is accidents or other health problems that require long-term care or hospitalization. Indeed, Statistics have shown that one of the major cause of concern for retirees in America and one of the greatest causes of personal bankruptcy are astronomical health care costs stemming from diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease as well as accidents that take a long time to heal. Mere survival is an ordeal.

Think about it; even if you do dutifully and diligently save, invest and prepare for retirement, one major accident or life-threatening disease could wipe out years of devoted and intelligent planning if you don’t have sufficient insurance. That, in our opinion, would be a crying shame and a sad end to what should be a person’s ‘golden years’.

We hate to see that happen and encourage all of our readers to talk frankly and openly about their insurance needs and make sure that, with a long, healthy life and mind, they are well covered.