What do life expectancy tables actually tell you?
A life expectancy table shows the average number of years someone at a given age is projected to live, based on current mortality data. Social Security's own tables put a 65-year-old man's odds of reaching 84 at roughly a coin flip, and a 65-year-old woman's odds of reaching 87 at about the same. Close to one in four people who make it to 65 will see 90. For retirement math, the IRS uses a separate version of this same idea, the Uniform Lifetime Table, to set your required minimum distribution once you turn 73. Below you will find the SSA figures, the IRS RMD divisors, longer-range cohort projections, and a state-by-state breakdown, along with how each one feeds into a real income plan.
What is a life expectancy table?
A life expectancy table lists, for someone who has already reached a given age, the average number of additional years they are projected to live. There are two main versions in common use.
A period table freezes mortality at today's rates and asks a simple question: if nothing about medicine, disease or lifestyle changed from this point forward, how long would someone at each age be expected to live? The Social Security Administration's Period Life Table is the version used most often in retirement planning.
A cohort table instead tries to account for the fact that mortality rates keep improving over time. It projects a gradual decline in death rates across the rest of a person's life, which usually adds 1 to 3 years onto the period estimate for the same age.
Insurance companies use a third variation for pricing income products: an annuitant mortality table. Because people who choose to buy a lifetime income annuity tend to be healthier and live longer than the general population, carriers build that self-selection into their assumptions. That is one reason a lifetime payout rate can look smaller than a simple "one divided by life expectancy" estimate; our SPIA guide walks through how that pricing works in practice.
SSA Period Life Table: life expectancy by age
The table below reflects the Social Security Administration's current Period Life Table, showing how many additional years a person is expected to live at each age, split by sex, along with the chance of dying within the next year at that age.
| Current age | Male: remaining years | Male: 1-year death odds | Female: remaining years | Female: 1-year death odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 30.0 years (to 80) | 0.43% | 33.7 years (to 83.7) | 0.26% |
| 55 | 25.7 years (to 80.7) | 0.65% | 29.2 years (to 84.2) | 0.42% |
| 60 | 21.7 years (to 81.7) | 1.00% | 24.9 years (to 84.9) | 0.66% |
| 65 | 17.9 years (to 82.9) | 1.56% | 20.7 years (to 85.7) | 1.04% |
| 70 | 14.3 years (to 84.3) | 2.46% | 16.7 years (to 86.7) | 1.67% |
| 75 | 11.1 years (to 86.1) | 3.92% | 13.0 years (to 88.0) | 2.79% |
| 80 | 8.2 years (to 88.2) | 6.40% | 9.7 years (to 89.7) | 4.76% |
| 85 | 5.8 years (to 90.8) | 10.7% | 6.9 years (to 91.9) | 8.27% |
| 90 | 4.0 years (to 94.0) | 17.8% | 4.8 years (to 94.8) | 14.4% |
| 95 | 2.8 years (to 97.8) | 28.4% | 3.3 years (to 98.3) | 24.1% |
These numbers come from the SSA's Actuarial Study No. 124, and each row lists the years someone at that age is expected to have left, alongside the odds of not making it to their next birthday.
The number that matters most here is easy to miss: the average understates how long most retirees actually live, because it is dragged down by everyone who dies young. If you have already reached 65 in reasonably good health, a realistic planning horizon sits closer to the top of these ranges than to the average itself.
Life expectancy by sex: why it changes the plan
At every age shown above, women outlive men by roughly 3 to 5 years on average. For a married couple, that gap compounds in an important way: the odds that at least one spouse survives to a very old age are meaningfully higher than either spouse's individual odds.
| Odds of living past... | Man, age 65 | Woman, age 65 | Couple, both 65 (at least one survives) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 80 | 63% | 74% | 90% |
| Age 85 | 45% | 58% | 77% |
| Age 90 | 25% | 37% | 53% |
| Age 95 | 8% | 15% | 22% |
| Age 100 | 1.5% | 3.5% | 5% |
The last column is the one that should drive planning for most couples. A 65-year-old couple has better than even odds, 53%, that one of them is still alive at 90, and roughly a 1-in-5 chance one of them reaches 95. An income plan built around a single life expectancy, rather than that joint figure, tends to fall short right when it matters most.
IRS Uniform Lifetime Table for RMDs
Once you reach the age the IRS sets for required minimum distributions, the Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III in IRS Publication 590-B) tells you how much you must withdraw from a traditional IRA, 401(k) or similar account each year. Take your balance as of the prior December 31 and divide by the factor for your current age.
| Age | Divisor | RMD as % of balance | RMD on a $500,000 balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% | $18,868 |
| 74 | 25.5 | 3.92% | $19,608 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% | $20,325 |
| 76 | 23.7 | 4.22% | $21,097 |
| 77 | 22.9 | 4.37% | $21,834 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 4.55% | $22,727 |
| 79 | 21.1 | 4.74% | $23,697 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% | $24,752 |
| 81 | 19.4 | 5.15% | $25,773 |
| 82 | 18.5 | 5.41% | $27,027 |
| 83 | 17.7 | 5.65% | $28,249 |
| 84 | 16.8 | 5.95% | $29,762 |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% | $31,250 |
| 86 | 15.2 | 6.58% | $32,895 |
| 87 | 14.4 | 6.94% | $34,722 |
| 88 | 13.7 | 7.30% | $36,496 |
| 89 | 12.9 | 7.75% | $38,760 |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% | $40,984 |
| 95 | 8.9 | 11.24% | $56,180 |
| 100 | 6.4 | 15.63% | $78,125 |
This chart is Table III of Appendix B in IRS Publication 590-B, and it covers almost every account owner. The one carve-out: if your only beneficiary is a spouse who is more than a decade younger than you, you would use the separate Joint Life table instead.
A quick RMD example
Diane turns 73 this year, and her traditional IRA closed out the prior year at $400,000. Dividing that balance by the age-73 factor, 26.5, puts her required withdrawal at $15,094. She has until December 31 to take it out. Skip the deadline and the IRS charges a 25% excise tax on whatever she failed to withdraw, cut to 10% if she corrects it within two years.
Two common ways retirees soften future RMDs are converting part of an IRA to a Roth before RMD age, and buying a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract, which can push RMDs on up to $210,000 of IRA money out to as late as age 85. Our QLAC guide covers the mechanics and the dollar limit in detail.
Cohort life expectancy tables
Where the period table freezes mortality at today's rates, a cohort table assumes those rates keep improving across a person's remaining lifetime. For anyone planning several decades out, that forward-looking view is often closer to reality. The figures below show life expectancy at birth and at age 65 for select birth years.
| Birth year | Life expectancy at birth, male | Life expectancy at birth, female | Remaining years at 65, male | Remaining years at 65, female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 70.4 | 76.3 | 12.7 | 14.7 |
| 1945 | 72.2 | 77.9 | 13.0 | 15.4 |
| 1950 | 73.5 | 79.2 | 13.1 | 16.2 |
| 1955 | 74.2 | 79.8 | 13.1 | 16.7 |
| 1960 | 74.9 | 80.3 | 13.2 | 17.4 |
| 1965 | 75.7 | 80.8 | 13.5 | 18.0 |
| 1970 | 76.9 | 81.6 | 13.8 | 18.5 |
| 1975 | 77.8 | 82.3 | 14.2 | 18.7 |
| 1980 | 78.7 | 83.0 | 14.7 | 18.8 |
| 1985 | 79.3 | 83.5 | 15.4 | 19.0 |
| 1990 | 79.9 | 84.0 | 16.0 | 19.3 |
| 1995 | 80.6 | 84.6 | 16.7 | 19.6 |
| 2000 | 81.1 | 85.0 | 17.5 | 19.9 |
| 2005 | 81.6 | 85.4 | 18.1 | 20.3 |
| 2010 | 82.1 | 85.8 | 18.6 | 20.7 |
| 2015 | 82.5 | 86.1 | 19.0 | 21.0 |
| 2020 | 83.0 | 86.5 | 19.4 | 21.6 |
These figures are drawn from the SSA's cohort life table series, which runs year by year going back to 1900; the rows above sample roughly every decade.
A person born decades ago, now approaching or in retirement, generally has a longer projected lifespan under a cohort table than the period table alone would suggest, and that gap has widened most for women, who have gained the most from improvements in medical care over the last several decades.
Life expectancy at birth by state
Where you live moves the number more than most people expect. CDC data shows roughly a 7-year spread between the longest-lived states and the shortest, driven by differences in income, access to care, smoking rates, obesity rates and other regional factors.
| Rank | State | Total | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 80.7 | 77.8 | 83.6 |
| 2 | California | 80.1 | 77.7 | 82.5 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 79.8 | 77.7 | 81.9 |
| 4 | New York | 79.4 | 77.0 | 81.7 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 79.2 | 76.7 | 81.6 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 79.0 | 76.6 | 81.3 |
| 7 | New Jersey | 78.9 | 76.5 | 81.2 |
| 8 | Washington | 78.8 | 76.8 | 80.8 |
| 9 | Colorado | 78.7 | 76.6 | 80.8 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 78.5 | 76.0 | 81.0 |
| 15 | Vermont | 78.1 | 76.0 | 80.3 |
| 20 | Oregon | 77.7 | 75.4 | 80.0 |
| 25 | Florida | 77.5 | 74.9 | 80.0 |
| 30 | Texas | 76.5 | 74.0 | 79.0 |
| - | United States average | 77.5 | 74.8 | 80.2 |
| 35 | Michigan | 76.0 | 73.6 | 78.4 |
| 40 | Indiana | 75.3 | 73.0 | 77.6 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 74.1 | 71.6 | 76.7 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 73.5 | 70.9 | 76.1 |
| 49 | Alabama | 73.2 | 70.3 | 76.1 |
| 50 | West Virginia | 72.8 | 70.3 | 75.4 |
| 51 | Mississippi | 71.9 | 68.8 | 75.1 |
This table pulls from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and shows a slice of the full ranking, which covers all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. The gap between the top and bottom of this list traces back to a mix of income levels, access to medical care, smoking and obesity rates, and other regional health factors, not to anything about the insurance products available where you live. Annuity contracts, rates and state guaranty limits vary by state too, which is a separate question from how long residents there tend to live; our guide to state guaranty associations covers that side of it.
How to use these tables in your own plan
Retirees generally lean on this data in three ways.
- Setting an income horizon. Plan around the upper end of the range for your age and sex, not the midpoint. Roughly a quarter of 65-year-old men and 65-year-old women will outlive age 90 and 92, respectively, so building an income plan that only reaches the average leaves a real chance of running short.
- Sizing annual RMDs. Starting at RMD age, divide your prior year-end balance by the IRS factor for your current age each year. Our RMD calculator automates this for a full projection.
- Timing Social Security. Longer expected longevity generally strengthens the case for delaying benefits toward age 70. See our Social Security claiming calculator and our break-even age guide for the full math.
For a married couple, the planning figure should be the longer of the two projected lifespans, not an average of the two. A single-life approach shortchanges roughly half of all marriages, since it ignores the very real chance that one spouse lives well beyond the other's individual number.
Life expectancy and annuities: the longevity risk angle
Every lifetime annuity payout rate on the market traces back to a mortality table. Carriers price these products with annuitant tables that assume longer-than-average lifespans, since buyers of guaranteed lifetime income skew healthier than the general population. As a result, a man retiring at 65 who converts savings into immediate lifetime income often lands an annual payout somewhere around 7.5% to 8% of what he put in, short of what a rough "1 divided by life expectancy" shortcut would suggest.
The upside of that same math is what makes lifetime income valuable in the first place. This is longevity risk pooling: the carrier collects premium from a large group of annuitants, some of whom pass away earlier than the tables predict, and uses that shared pool to keep paying the ones who live well past their projected age. For someone who expects to be on the healthier, longer-lived side of these tables, that pooling is hard to replicate with any other retirement product.
A few common ways retirees put this to work:
- A Single Premium Immediate Annuity started between 65 and 75, for guaranteed income that begins quickly. Payout rates climb with age, so waiting until 70 or 75 to start often produces a stronger lifetime yield than starting at 65.
- A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract, for income deferred to age 80 or 85, aimed squarely at hedging the tail end of the longevity curve.
- A fixed index annuity with a lifetime income rider, for retirees who want some index-linked growth potential alongside a longevity hedge.
If any of these fit your situation, a free quote built around your own age, deposit and goals will show what guaranteed income actually looks like for you, rather than relying on a table alone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average life expectancy in the United States right now?
The CDC's most recent national figures put life expectancy at birth around 77.5 years overall, split roughly 74.8 for men and 80.2 for women. That number describes a newborn, not a retiree. Someone who has already reached 65 has already cleared the years with the highest mortality risk, so their remaining outlook runs closer to 18 more years for men and 21 more for women.
What does the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table calculate?
It is the divisor chart, Table III of IRS Publication 590-B, that sets required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or similar tax-deferred account once you reach RMD age. Take your account balance as of the prior December 31, divide by the factor listed for your current age, and that quotient is the least you can withdraw that year.
When does the IRS require RMDs to begin?
The SECURE 2.0 Act ties the starting age to your birth year: 73 for anyone born from 1951 through 1959, and 75 for anyone born in 1960 or after. Each year's withdrawal is due by December 31, with one exception: a first-year grace period that lets you push that initial distribution to April 1 the next year instead.
How does a period table differ from a cohort table?
A period table applies today's mortality rates at every age, as if they would never change again. A cohort table instead projects that mortality rates keep improving over your remaining lifetime, which typically pushes the estimate 1 to 3 years higher than the period figure for the same age. For a retirement plan spanning several decades, the cohort view is usually the more realistic one.
How do life expectancy tables affect what an annuity pays?
Carriers do not price lifetime income off the general population tables shown here. They use their own annuitant mortality tables, which assume longer lifespans, because people who choose to buy guaranteed lifetime income tend to be healthier than average. That built-in assumption is a big part of why a payout rate can look lower than a rough 1-over-life-expectancy estimate would suggest, and it is also exactly what makes the guarantee valuable if you end up living well past the table.
Written and reviewed by
James Forren Warren
Licensed Retirement Income Strategist · License #20551202
James Forren Warren is a licensed Retirement Income Strategist with Tax Free Wealth Plan. For the past five years he has helped individuals and families turn their savings into retirement income they can count on. He writes and reviews the annuity research on this site and keeps it plain: what a product does, what it costs you, and who it actually fits.
Sources
Educational only, not investment, tax or legal advice. Tax Free Wealth Plan LLC is a licensed insurance agency, not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Annuities are not bank deposits, are not FDIC insured and are not guaranteed by any government agency. Guarantees are backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Features, rates and availability vary by state and change over time; the contract and disclosure documents govern.