Jug Jug Jeeyo – a blessing or a curse ?

In the Ved kaal (Vaidik Era), Rishis & common people were used to enjoy 150+ years of life as they were practicing Yog & Pranaayam in their daily routine. Though they were highly engaged & busy in the activities of Social welfare, Devotion & Religion, they had a deep conviction behind a life full of contentment & bliss. At the time of The Great War of Mahabharata, the age of Shri Bhishma Pitamah was 186 years. Lord Shri Krishna also chose to leave this world at the age of 125 years.

Earlier our elders used to bless us with: “Jug Jug jeeyo” / “Aayushmaan Bhava” / “Tum jiyo hazaron saal” / “Sau saal ki umra hai, Tumhari”. And people were very happy receiving such blessings. But not anymore.

World is facing a different kind of challenge today. Can you imagine, living more can also be a problem ?

When the mission of modern science is to discover how a person can live longer, the Economists are facing a different kind of challange altogether. Increasing life of the world population is a matter of worry for the Economists.

India has witnessed a rapid increase in Life Expectancy in last 40 years.

In 1981, an average Indian Citizen was living upto the age of 54. In 2001, this age increased to 62 and in 2021 it reached to 70.

And this is not the case with only India, but throughout the globe.

Monaco has the highest Life Expectancy in the world with its locals live to an age of 87.

Please find below the Life Expectancy of few leading countries.

Life Expectancy of the World Population

World’s average Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy in some of the popular Countries

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/

Life expectancy at birth. Data based on the latest United Nations Population Division estimates.

The major reason behind this rapid increase in the World Life Expectancy is Medical Advancements.

World is facing one more problem of increasing old age population. Declining fertility & increasing longevity are the key drivers of population aging globally. Today, India is one of the Youngest Nations (Nation with more of young population) which will become one of the Oldest Nations (Nation with more of old age population) by the year 2056.

Going deep into the problem for India, people are contracting the ailments like BP, Diabetes, Cholesterol & such other lifestyle related diseases at an early age of 40 or 45. This means, the people are living more but the later life is longer & unhealthier. In the coming years, we all may have to live up to the age of 80 or 90.

People are contracting the ailments like BP, Diabetes, Cholestrol & other lifestyle related diseases at an early age of 40 or 50. This means, the people are living more but the later life is longer & unhealthier. In the coming years, we all may have to live up to the age of 80 or 90.

In the early days, the joint family system was working as the shock absorber especially when there is some financial crunch in the family or in old age. Elderly people were taken care effortlessly by the remaining members & they did not have to bother about cost of living. Whereas, nowadays the nuclear family system does not have such advantage & this adds to the extreme stress on the one or two family members.

As an Individual, we have very little control over the Macro events like Family System and World Economy. However, we can control the Micro events such as planning for our own family’s personal finance, our own Retirement Planning, planning for some robust fund for our spouse in case we are not around to take care of her or him.

Assuming that we are going to live up to the age of 90 years, we will have a 30 years of unproductive life where we are producing nothing or very less but we will be consuming more than ever. The cost of routine medicine & regular health check-ups will add to the expenses which at a young age we might not have.

One of my client’s Grandmother is bedridden since last 3 years and since then they have engaged 2 nurses to take care of her; one for day time & one for the night. The day time nurse charges Rs.1,500/- per day & other one charges Rs.2,000/- per night. The daily cost comes to 3,500/- multiply by 30 days of the month, the cost comes to Rs.1,05,000/- per month.

Are we prepared for such a situation ?

The wise thing is to prepare ourselves for the long post-retired life. We don’t have a luxury of Social Security System like other developed country has; and it seems impossible in the near future. We must have our own Retirement Planning in place. Many people are investing but in random manner without having a proper plan & knowledge of Retirement Planning. I have always felt that Planning for a Post-Retirement Passive Income is a Special Financial Goal & must be addressed separately with due care & dedication.