So, what’s new?

Starting today, your Tuesday update is changing and Focus Friday is being absorbed... Every week going forward, you’ll get all of this in one email:

1. The TLDR > the key takeaways, no scrolling required

2. The Deep Dive > this week’s main topic

3. The Focal Point > one useful insight / update to carry into your week

Let’s get into it.

TLDR:

1. People are living longer; expect to live past 100

2. Government pensions may not stretch far enough as retiree numbers soar

3. I’m tracking my own data and recent InBody results show some real gains

The Retirement You Imagined Is Changing

Today’s 30/40-somethings face a very different retirement landscape than their parents. For one thing, average lifespans are moving into the 80s and beyond: for example, Ireland’s life expectancy is about 83, the UK’s roughly 79 for men and 83 for women and the US is around 78. In plain terms, more of us are living longer. In Ireland the share of people over 65 is climbing from 15.5% today to nearly 24% by 2044. In the UK about 19% of the population was 65+ in 2022 and that could hit roughly 27% by 2070. In the US, the over-65 group is projected to rise from 17% of the population to about 23% by 2050. More people and longer lives mean more pensions to pay.

At the same time, traditional government pensions (state pensions, Social Security, etc.) are under strain. These systems were designed when far fewer people reached old age and there were many more workers per retiree. Now the worker-to-retiree ratio is shrinking. In Ireland it’s forecast to drop from about 4:1 today to 2:1 by 2050. In the US it falls from 3.7 in 1970 to about 2.1 by 2040. Even in the UK, pension age is being pushed up (to 68 by the late 2030s) because about 21% of people will be past the state pension age by 2040. As one example of strain, the US Social Security trustees warn that its main trust fund can only pay 100% of scheduled benefits through 2033 before dipping to about 79%. In Ireland the government projects the 65+ population will nearly double by 2057, with extra age-related costs of tens of billions of euros per year. The message is clear: depending only on old models (retire at 65, live to 85) and on guaranteed state pensions is increasingly risky.

So what should you do? Think long-term. Consider that you might very well live to 100 (or beyond). Experts already say centenarians are surging: in Ireland centenarians are expected to rise by about 400% from 2005 to 2030, the US is on track to have over 422,000 people aged 100+ by 2054, and the UK’s 100+ population more than doubled between 2003 and 2023. That’s not hype – it’s what better health care and lifestyles have brought us. But it also means a 20-year retirement (age 65 to 85) may be obsolete. Instead, you might need 30 or 40 years of funding after you stop full-time work.

Now is the time to adjust your plans. Work a little longer if you can, save and invest more aggressively, and treat any state pension as a bonus rather than your whole plan. Begin building a private “nest egg” while you have decades to grow it. This isn’t about panic but preparation: a reality check that retirement expectations must evolve. If you ignore these trends, you risk outliving your savings or constantly scrambling to “catch up” later. In short, take ownership of your financial future today. The old retirement playbook (65–85) may not exist by the time you need it. Start planning for 100-year lives and you’ll thank yourself later.

Remember, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is now.

The Focal Point: My InBody Results

I've been running a 12-week experiment with my fitness routine and part of the tracking involves monthly InBody scans. Four weeks in and I’ve had my first results.

Let’s see what’s changed:

• Weight: Up from 90.7 to 92.3kg

• Water Weight: Up 1.3L

• Body fat %: Dropped from 21.4% to 20.4% (-0.5kg)

• Muscle mass: Up 1.1kg

What’s working? Consistency. I’ve stuck to three gym sessions per week (push/pull/legs), two clean meals a day, and intermittent fasting (eating zone noon to 8pm). Nothing revolutionary — but it’s repeatable. That’s the trick.

I am down in body fat and up in muscle mass, with water retention up. This is most likely related to my daily 10g of creatine and my morning electrolytes. But, one change I want to make is to add in 10,00 steps every day to better manage this and my calorie deficit.

Overall, great results for four weeks in. If I can repeat this over the coming four weeks, I’ll be close to 19% body fat. Remember, my overall goal for this 12-week period is to get as close to 17% as I can…

Let me know what you make of the new format and if you’re now thinking about your future self this week, hell that’s the whole point!

^{NOTE: I am not a financial advisor, planner or have any formal healthcare education. &Prosper is simply a way for me to share my own journey and offer resources I have found useful. With this, I am starting from near zero and I hope to show that anyone can significantly improve their health and financial wellbeing.}