Longevity Goals
What are you willing to live for?
Sixty-nine is an uncomfortable number.
For many Black men, it represents more than an age. It represents a warning. It represents the average life expectancy of Black men in some communities across the United States. More broadly, the most recent national data suggest that non-Hispanic Black men, on average, live to about 70 years of age.
Again, this is an average.
Some of us will live longer. Some of us will not make it that far. But the number matters because it forces us to ask a question many of us would rather avoid:
How much time do we really have?
And if we do have time, what are we doing with it?
This matters because life expectancy is not just a health statistic. It is also the backbone of a wealth creation strategy.
A financial planner needs to understand your work-life expectancy, or WLE. In simple terms, work-life expectancy helps estimate how many productive earning years you may have left to save, invest, protect your income, pay down debt, and prepare for retirement.
Once your advisor has a sense of your WLE, they also need to understand your retirement life expectancy, or RLE. This is the number of years you expect to live after you stop working. Together, these numbers help determine how much money you may need, how long that money needs to last, when you may be able to retire, and what kind of lifestyle you can realistically sustain.
This is why the life expectancy number matters.
It suggests that many Black men, even if we are fortunate enough to build wealth, may not have the longevity to enjoy it. We must recognize that not everyone is living to the ripe old age of 100. Planning as if we all have unlimited time can create a false sense of comfort. It can lead us to believe we have more time to create wealth, repair our health, deepen our relationships, and enjoy the life we say we want.
Now, some may argue that this is exactly why you do not save for the future.
“You can’t take it with you.”
I hear you.
But I have also worked with enough older adults to hear a different kind of truth.
“I wish I would have saved more.”
“I wish I would have taken better care of my health.”
“I wish I had more time.”
There is a point in life where many people transition from “I’m going to die from something” to “I’m ready to live for something.”
That shift matters.
A lot of financial advice floating around the internet assumes longevity is a given. As a result, you will see guidance encouraging people to delay retirement until full retirement age. Other sources suggest waiting until age 70 to maximize Social Security benefits.
And yes, mathematically, those strategies can make sense.
But for Black men, the conversation has to be more nuanced.
If a man’s health, family history, work demands, stress, or community conditions suggest a shorter life expectancy, then telling him to simply delay retirement can feel tone-deaf. It can also be financially suboptimal. What good is a larger monthly benefit if you do not live long enough, or well enough, to enjoy it?
Without good health, there is no wealth.
Or at least not the kind of wealth we fantasize about.
So, what can we do about it?
Not financial advisors.
Not institutions.
Us.
Black men.
The most obvious place to begin is with our health.
Heart disease remains one of the most serious threats to Black men. This is not new information. Most of us know we need to eat better. We know we need to move more. We know we need to get our blood pressure checked. We know we need to pay attention to stress. We know we need to stop acting like ignoring symptoms is a sign of strength.
But knowing is not the same as doing.
And for many of us, the struggle is real.
Some of us grew up in cultures where comfort food was not just food. It was family. It was celebration. It was memory. It was survival. It was love served on a plate.
Some of us are surrounded by fast food that is cheap, convenient, and designed to be craveable. The food industry knows how to keep us coming back. Salt, sugar, fat, and convenience are a powerful combination.
And some of us simply never learned to associate good health with financial benefit.
We talk about health as if it only matters when the doctor tells us something is wrong. But health is a cash flow issue. Health is an income issue. Health is an insurance issue. Health is a retirement issue. Health is a legacy issue.
Good health can help lower health care costs. It can improve life insurance pricing. It can help us think more clearly. It can increase our desire to be physically active. It can improve our sense of life satisfaction. It can boost productivity. It can help us remain present with the people we love.
All of these things affect our ability to create, protect, and enjoy wealth.
Health is wealth.
Wealth is health.
The two are interconnected.
But food and exercise are not the whole story.
Meaningful connection matters too.
There is growing evidence that the quality of our relationships is deeply connected to longevity. Strong social ties, regular positive interaction, and close, meaningful relationships are not just nice to have. They are life-giving.
Fellas, we need to connect and stay connected.
When was the last time you went on a guys’ trip?
When was the last time you shot hoops with the boys?
When was the last time you called a friend and told the truth?
Not the polished version.
Not the “I’m good” version.
The truth.
We do not talk about this enough, but many men are lonely. Many men are isolated. Many men are carrying grief, stress, disappointment, shame, and fear in silence. We drift away from the very people who could help us stay grounded. We isolate when we should congregate. We disappear when we should reach out.
And I get it.
Sometimes life gets busy. Sometimes pride gets loud. Sometimes pain convinces us that nobody wants to hear what we are going through.
But we need each other.
As the old African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
That applies to life expectancy too.
If you are reading this, I am not asking you to make monumental changes overnight. Sustainable habits take time. Change takes energy. Healing takes patience. Building a healthier life requires more than motivation. It requires systems, support, and consistency.
But I am asking you to do one thing right now.
Write down your longevity goal.
Mine is ninety-five.
I want to be cognitively, physically, relationally, spiritually, and financially abundant well into my nineties.
I do not just want to be alive.
I want to be present.
I want to know my grandchildren.
I want to laugh hard.
I want to move well.
I want to remember names.
I want to still be useful.
I want to have enough money to live with dignity and enough health to enjoy the life that money helps support.
So, what is your number?
And once you write it down, ask yourself:
What do I need to change about how I eat?
What do I need to change about how I move?
What do I need to change about how I manage stress?
What do I need to change about how I show up for my friends?
What do I need to change about how I allow others to show up for me?
There is more than one way to get there. You do not have to do everything. You just have to start with something you can do consistently over time.
Drink more water.
Walk after dinner.
Schedule the doctor’s appointment.
Eat the vegetable.
Call your friend.
Go to therapy.
Lift weights.
Take the stairs.
Cook one more meal at home.
Say no to what is killing you, slowly.
Say yes to what gives you life.
And if you need something to remind you of your longevity goal, here is a link to my Longevity Goals T-Shirt: Longevity Goals T-Shirt
What you wear shouldn’t just feel good.
It should remind you that your life is worth fighting for.
Until next time, you have more power than you think. Own it!