Would you rather have $1 million dollars added to your retirement account or have five healthy years added to your life expectancy?
If you found it difficult to choose, you’re not alone. A new report titled Everyday Wealth in America found people are split essentially 50-50 on the choice between health and money. The annual report is produced by Edelman Financial Engines (EFE), and was based on a survey over 3,000 Americans aged 30 and over that asked them to choose between $1 million and five healthy years.
But it’s quite a different story when offered 10 extra healthy years. Then, 19% switch their preference from the extra money to the extra decade, for a total of 68% opting for 10 extra years of good health.
“The way that I read this is, the value of five years for [about] 20% of people is $1 million, so the value of a year of life is $200,000,” says Jean Chatzky, financial expert and EFE partner. “We can see back and see forward five years pretty easily, but 10 is a little harder. It makes you think of the wonderful things that could happen that you weren’t expecting.”
Of course, health vs. wealth isn’t an either-or decision, says Chatzky. The two often go hand in hand. Generally speaking, taking care of one’s health can help with health care costs down the line.
But “if you aren’t financially stable, you are unlikely to be able to take care of your health, and therefore those health needs are going to creep up on you,” she says. “We think about this as a choice when in fact you have to do both.”
Young homeowners feel ‘handcuffed’
That is just one point from the report’s extensive findings on everything from how much it takes for Americans to feel wealthy to their plans for inheritances.
On the former point, only around 12% of respondents consider themselves “wealthy,” and two-thirds say the threshold for that is $1 million in the bank. Nearly 60% say they’d have to earn at least $100,000 per year to live comfortably, while around 25% say they’d need double that.
A big reason many Americans aren’t feeling flush, according to Chatzky: The housing market. Almost half—49%—of homeowners under 50 “feel trapped in their current home because interest rates make moving feel impossible,” compared to 36% of all homeowners.
Yes, their mortgage rate might be low now—but if they are expanding their family or need a different space for other reasons and can’t afford a new home due to rising rates and prices, people feel more pessimistic about their financial reality.
“They are feeling handcuffed. That makes you feel not wealthy as well,” she says. “Even if you are Zillow surfing and you see the value of your home, that is not money you have access to.”
Another stat underlines the frustration, Chatzky says. Over 40% of all Americans and 56% of those in their 30s said they’d be willing to relocate to another state if it meant they would save some money. Chatzky says that will likely have big ramifications moving forward, assuming housing prices don’t come down much.
“The drive to own a house despite the stories we’re seeing on renting is still very strong for a lot of people,” she says. “We’re going to see more mobility like that.”
