The two most important pieces of information you need for retirement planning.

My dad on his 40th birthday in 1968

Planning for retirement is like planning a budget for a vacation without knowing where you are going, or for how long. Those are the two pieces of information that can be multiplied by two to equal four pieces of missing information for married couples.

My maternal Grandfather worked for the local newspaper. He had a union job and he retired on his 65th birthday. He died two weeks later suddenly and unexpectedly of a ruptured appendix as near as I can figure.

When he planned his retirement, he was missing the two most important pieces of information. He didn’t know how long he would live or what he would die of.

His wife, my grandmother lived until she was 81. She had dementia and lived with my parents for a decade or so. Shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer, she was moved into long-term care, where she spent the last three years of her life.

She never planned for retirement or old age, it all just happened to her. My parents paid for her food and housing. I believe that her long-term care was paid for by the county.

Both of my parents lived to be 90 and they saved and invested money throughout their lives, yet they died flat-broke because they each spent the last five years of their lives in long-term…