A National Bureau of Economic Research study authored by Poterba, Venti and Wise found that people who were the healthiest 20% in their fifties retired with three times the retirement funds of a similar aged group who were the least healthy. The healthy persons also spent down their funds slower than the other group. Your health impacts your wealth before and after you retire.
According to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one-third of adults with diabetes don’t know it, and 20% of adults with high blood pressure are also clueless about their chronic condition. So if you haven’t visited your doctor in recent memory it maybe financially beneficial to do so. If you know about a chronic health condition you can take steps to reverse or remedy it. Helping to make sure you have a happy retirement takes planning and that planning means more than just financial planning it takes some proactive health planning as well. Much like making a financial investment for retirement it is imperative to examine your health and plan on how best to invest in your health future. Money spent on health care in retirement is often at the expense of travel or other improved lifestyle choices. Invest in you and visit your doctor and dare I say it visit your local gym and if you need to invest in a personal trainer to help get you started on a strength and conditioning program.
Your DNA only dictates part of the story you may be genetically more likely to develop chronic illness but research shows a very small number of factors make a big difference. Those factors include smoking, alcohol consumption, your BMI, and how much you exercise. You control all of those negative impactful factors. You can invest in yourself and move yourself along the pathway to a happy and more healthy retirement but doing some lifestyle changes. Exercise is one of those changes that can have a synergistic effect considering exercise will improve body composition and overall health. If you need some words of encouragement or help getting there contact me [email protected]