Good morning, Retirement Starts Today Community! Welcome to Every Day is Saturday, the newsletter reminding us that in retirement, every day is Saturday (including Thursday mornings).

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8th Annual Listener Survey​
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Episode Breakdown:

The Flaw of Averages in Retirement Planning + How to Self-Insure for Long-Term Care​
(0:00) Why life expectancy is misleading—and potentially dangerous in planning
(24:10) Listener question: Can you really self-insure for long-term care and use the tax code to make your dollars go further?

​Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple​

Retirement Headline:

Why Planning to Your Life Expectancy Might Be a Mistake​
​Source: Advisor Perspectives by Jeffrey Dellinger

This week’s headline tackles a sacred cow in retirement planning: using average life expectancy as a retirement end date.

Spoiler: It might be a dangerous shortcut.

Key Insight: Life Expectancy ≠ Personal Forecast

The article walks through the math behind life expectancy—how it’s an average, not a prediction. A thousand 60-year-old women may have an average life expectancy of 89, but:

• The most common age of death (the mode) is 94
• 60% of them are still alive at age 89

So, if you plan to run out of money at 89? Odds are, you’ll run out while still very much alive.

The Everest Analogy

Planning to 89 is like flying over the Himalayas at 20,000 feet because that’s the average height of the mountains. It sounds safe—until you meet Mount Everest.

Takeaways for Your Plan

1. Avoid fixed-age planning. Instead, use flexible retirement income strategies that work whether you live to 70 or 105.
2. Use the mode, not the mean. If 94 is the most common age of death, shouldn’t your plan account for that?
3. Rely on survival curves, not static averages. A full curve shows the range of possible outcomes—not just the midpoint.
4. Keep growing beyond inflation. Stocks are your friend in long retirement spans.
5. Defer one Social Security benefit as long as possible. Especially for surviving spouse protection.
6. Don’t defer taxes forever. Roth conversions and brokerage flexibility matter more the longer you live.

The bottom line? Retirement planning isn’t about guessing your end date—it’s about preparing for the long, vibrant life you might have.

Listener Question: “Can I Self-Insure for Long-Term Care Using My IRA and the Tax Code?”

Yes—with caveats.

A listener asks if they can fund their long-term care from their retirement accounts and use the medical expense deduction to reduce the tax bite. Smart thinking! Let’s unpack how it works—and how it compares to traditional long-term care insurance.

What Qualifies as Deductible Long-Term Care?

Per IRS Pub 502, here’s what qualifies:

• Must be chronically ill (needs help with 2+ Activities of Daily Living for 90+ days or has cognitive impairment)
• Must have a plan of care prescribed by a licensed healthcare provider

With that in place, the following may be deductible:

• In-home care (nurses, personal care aides)
• Assisted living or memory care
• Nursing home care for medical reasons
• Even family caregivers—with proper contracts and tax reporting (no spouses or dependent children)

How to Make It Tax-Efficient

Here’s the strategy:

1. Withdraw from your IRA
2. Pay qualified care expenses
3. Deduct any amounts above 7.5% of your AGI, if you itemize and exceed the standard deduction

This won’t make your withdrawal tax-free, but it can reduce your effective tax rate.

Final Thoughts

Whether you use insurance, retirement funds, or your home—long-term care planning isn’t just about where the money comes from. It’s about timing, taxes, and staying in control.

Self-insuring works best when planned in advance
Roth conversions and tax-smart withdrawals can make your dollars stretch
Home equity gives you another layer of flexibility
Insurance isn’t bad—but it’s not your only option

Resources Mentioned

• ​Click here to read, Life Expectancy: The (F)Law of Averages
• ​Click here to order my book, Retirement Starts Today: Your non-financial guide to an even better retirement

I need your help...

I will be starting a new segment on my podcast: Retire TO something, not FROM something.

The segment will be brief at the end of the show and will share a fun retirement idea, along with links to learn more. Volunteer work and part-time “fun” jobs will be a common theme.

​Click here to share your ideas!

That's it for our three hundred and ninety-first installment of "Every Day is Saturday." As always, I read (and usually reply to) every listener email. Got a question? Hit reply—you just might hear your name on the show.

Enjoy your “Saturday,”
​Benjamin Brandt

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