Did you know that there is a greater chance of a child born today reaching 100 years of age than it is for a man who is already 99 years old?
Just think about that for a moment.
The near-centenarian only has to hang on for another 12 months and he could celebrate his 100th birthday. But the newborn has to go through a whole lot more before hitting the century mark.
Yet the child still has a better chance of making it to 100.
It's an extraordinary statistic
In case you are interested, I reckon that I have a 1-in-10 chance of reaching 100.
That could be both a blessing and a curse.
On the one hand, I could still have some way to go before I have to shut down my laptop for the last time.
The downside, however, is that you might have to put up with me for a whole lot longer.
Being able to live longer is certainly one of the greatest achievements of the health-care industry.
That is thanks to advances in medical research and pharmaceutical discoveries.
So, diseases that were once deemed to be terminal can now be either treated or prevented, altogether.
That is fantastic. But there is problem.
As we live longer, we also have to work for longer to pay for our lengthy retirement. And it is not just you and I that will have to work longer.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), employees in developed countries should continue to work until they are 70.
The increase in retirement age is necessary as the number of people over 65 could more than triple by 2050.
It is reckoned that the number of workers for every person who retires at 65 could halve to just four.
There just won't be enough productive people to support those who are enjoying the longest vacation of their lives.
To put it bluntly, we are sitting on a ticking demographic time bomb.
But let's be brutally honest — do we really want to work until we are 70? Do we want our children to work until they are 70?
According to the WEF, governments need to start immediately to make it easier for workers to save for their retirement.
Australians are lucky. Most people save for their retirement through compulsory employer superannuation contributions, currently 9.5% of gross salary.
But superannuation has its limitations.
It's like the old saying about leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink.
It's not a case of what superannuation can do for you, but what you do with your superannuation that counts.
The WEF pointed out that individuals need to not only increase their personal savings — they need to improve their financial literacy, too.
Financial literacy means knowing where to put your money to better reach your financial goals.
Put another way, earning a return of 2.5% a year by leaving a chunk of your money in term deposits is just not going to be enough.
It might seem like the safest thing to do with your money. But it may not always be the smartest, if you want to enjoy a decent retirement.
At a rate of return of 2.5% a year, every dollar that you invest today will take nearly 29 years to double in nominal terms.
But if you can improve the returns, then so too could the size of your retirement pots.
Over the long term, Australian shares have delivered an average return of around 10% a year. With that higher rate of return, it could take around seven years to double every dollar you invest today.
That's a whole lot better than waiting nearly three decades for your dollar to double.
But investing is not free of risk. So how do we avoid the pitfalls?
How do we pick our way through the stock market minefield and defuse the time bomb that is ticking below us and our children?
That's where my colleague Scott Phillips comes into the equation.
As Director of Research for Motley Fool Australia, every month he provides subscribers to Motley Fool Share Advisor — our flagship advisory service — with one high quality ASX stock buy recommendation, a stock fit for almost any portfolio.
To find out how he does it, and to save up to 60% off a subscription to Motley Fool Share Advisor, click here now.
