As life expectancy increases, the Silver Economy grows, but so does the risk of running out of savings. How to plan your financial future
We are living longer and longer, but are our savings really ready to support a retirement that could last twenty years or more? The so-called grows Longevity Riskthe real risk of not having sufficient resources to support oneself after retirement. Especially in a country like Italy which leads the European ranking for longevity of the population, with a life expectancy which in 2025 has reached 81.7 years for men and 85.7 years for women. What if you planned it? EFPA Italythe Foundation that certifies professionals and training courses in the financial consultancy sector, has developed a five-point guide to build a real Longevity Planning.
The silver economy is worth over 400 billion euros
In Italy, births continue to decline (355 thousand in 2025, down 3.9% compared to 2024) and the active elderly population is growing constantly. Today I am 14 million people over 65equal to 24.7% of the total population. By 2050 this share will rise to 35% of the population, fueling a Silver Economy with over 400 billion euros of spendable income per year. In fact, the over 65s already hold more than half of the national net wealth and generate over a third of total consumption. They actively participate in Italy’s economy, but longevity risk also increases. «Today at 65 you have around 20 years left to live, of which 10 are in good health», explains Fiorenzo Bortolato, General Secretary of EFPA Italia.
Longevity Planning: the 5 steps to plan for after retirement
And then Longevity Planning is needed. It is not a financial product, but a method. Making concrete choices, in advance, allows you to face the years following retirement with greater serenity. How to do it? EFPA Italy has identified five practical actions to build this path to economic security in the long term.
The first step is fare a real photograph of your heritage. It doesn’t mean knowing how much you earn, but having a complete picture of your financial situation. This means monitoring not only your salary, but also your average monthly net income (e.g. calculated over the last three months); fixed expenses, such as rent, mortgage, bills and subscriptions; variable expenses, from food to shopping to travel; available liquidity, current account sum and savings and debts, even small ones, such as loans and credit cards.
The second step is automate savings, even with small amounts. You don’t need large amounts of capital, but just define, based on your family budget, a fixed portion of your income to be allocated to an investment plan consistent with your time horizon. Even small sums, if invested regularly, make a difference over time. At this point the third step is cbuild an emergency fund to protect against the unexpected: the liquidity of a “treasure chest” is not enough, but insurance coverage can be useful, for example, which helps to keep part of the risk under control.
And this leads to the fourth step: do not leave the money “still” in the account, but make an investment for savings based on your goals and possibilities, not randomly. Finally, the last action is always needed, which must be constant: mMonitor your longevity plan regularly. Checking your savings periodically allows you to check whether they are growing as expected and whether the financial plan is still adequate for the objectives, so as to intervene in time in case of problems. It is also useful to monitor your social security position, comparing your estimated pension with your desired standard of living. This avoids creating a gap that is difficult to recover later.
