U.S. Life Expectancy Fell Another 1.2 Years in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to drive down Americans’ life expectancy in 2021.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting, based on early data, that overall life expectancy at birth fell by 1.2 years between 2020 and 2021, to 76.1 years, according to a new report and a comparable report based on 2020 data.

For 65-year-olds, life expectancy fell by 0.5 years, to 18.3 years. The decrease at age 65 was about the same for men and for women.

Since 2019 — the first full year before the start of the pandemic — U.S. life expectancy at birth has dropped a total of 2.7 years, and life expectancy at age 65 has dropped 1.3 years.

COVID-19 has affected mortality by killing people directly, by affecting people’s access to care for other conditions, and, possibly, by leading to economic and social changes that may have contributed to increases in the number of deaths related to accidents, liver problems, suicide and homicide.

What It Means

For advisors, the new life expectancy figures raise questions about whether COVID-19 will lead to a big, lasting decrease in life expectancy for the people alive now, or if the pandemic has simply caused a temporary change.

Another question is the relationship between life expectancy changes for the general population and the kinds of relatively high-income, conscientious people who work with financial professionals and who own products such as life insurance, annuities and long-term care insurance.

Early life insurance claim analyses released by teams at the Society of Actuaries imply that COVID-19 may have had a big effect on the death rate for U.S. residents with individual life insurance and group life insurance.

(Photo: Panimoni/Shutterstock)