Longer life means increased disability risk

It isn’t rocket science, but for some reason boomers just aren’t getting it. The longer you live, the higher the risk of incurring some sort of disability, one that could seriously hamper your clients’ retirement plans. But according to a new survey from Harris Interactive and America’s Health Insurance Plans, most baby boomers underestimate their risk of suffering a disability. The survey also found that baby boomers are unaware of the most common causes of disability.

Just over a third of boomers think the chances of becoming disabled due to illness or injury is less than 5 percent, a slight majority think the chances are 10 percent or less and two-thirds think the chances are 20 percent or less. In reality, a worker has a 30 percent chance of suffering a disabling injury or illness.

One of the reasons baby boomers underestimate risk is because they’re unaware of the most common causes of disability, mistakenly believing that injuries cause more disabilities than illnesses. In actuality, research shows that the most common causes are cancer, heart disease and diabetes.