Life Expectancy Calculator
A population-average estimate from a life table.
Whole years, 0–119. Reads the official SSA period life table.
The SSA table publishes separate male and female columns.
Remaining life expectancy
- Estimated age at death
- 82.1 years
- Current age
- 30 years
US population average from the official SSA 2023 period life table, not a personal, medical, or actuarial forecast. It reflects 2023 age-specific mortality and does not project future improvements in longevity.
How the life expectancy calculator works
The calculator reads your remaining years straight from the Social Security Administration’s actuarial period life table for the United States, the same table the SSA uses in its Trustees Report. The table lists, for every single-year age from 0 to 119 and for each sex, the average number of years still to be lived by people who reach that exact age. Actuaries write that figure e_x (life expectancy at age x).
Because the SSA publishes e_x directly, no modelling happens in your browser: the tool looks up the row for your age, reads the column for your sex, and reports
- Remaining life expectancy: the SSA’s published
e_xfor your age and sex. - Estimated age at death:
current age + e_x.
Behind the SSA’s published column is standard life-table mathematics: from the number of survivors l_x reaching each age, actuaries compute the person-years lived in each year of age (L_x), sum them from your age upward (T_x), and divide: e_x = T_x / l_x. This calculator reports the SSA’s own result of that computation rather than re-deriving it, so the figures match the official table exactly.
Worked example
Take a 65-year-old woman using the 2023 SSA table:
- The table row for exact age 65 shows a female life expectancy of 20.66 years.
- Estimated age at death:
65 + 20.66 = 85.66.
For a 65-year-old man, the same row’s male column shows 18.12 years, for an estimated age at death of 83.12.
Notice that both figures are well above the at-birth life expectancies (75.79 male, 81.06 female). That is the survivorship effect: having already reached 65, this group has outlived the mortality risks of every earlier age.
How to use it
- Enter your current exact age in whole years (0–119) and select your sex.
- Read the two outputs together: remaining years and the implied average age at death.
- Compare ages by re-running it. You will see the estimated death age drift upward as the entered age increases, which is the survivorship effect, not an error.
- Treat the result as a benchmark for planning horizons (retirement drawdown, insurance terms), not as a date.
Limitations
This is a United States population average from a single-period snapshot. Beyond age and sex it captures nothing that makes one person differ from another: country, income, smoking, chronic illness, or family history. It assumes 2023 death rates hold unchanged for the rest of your life, which usually understates real longevity because mortality has been improving. This is an estimate for general orientation, not medical, actuarial, or financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the numbers come from?
From the Social Security Administration's official actuarial period life table for the United States (the 2023 table used in the 2026 Trustees Report). The calculator reads the SSA's published life-expectancy column directly, so the figure you see is exactly what the SSA publishes for your age and sex.
Why is my estimated age at death so close to my current age?
The table reflects mortality at every age above yours. People who have already reached an older age have, on average, fewer years left, so the estimated age at death rises slowly with current age but never by a full year for each year you survive. A 70-year-old and an 80-year-old can both have an estimated death age in the 80s.
Does this account for medical progress and future improvements?
No. A period life table is a snapshot of one calendar period's death rates applied to a hypothetical group. It assumes that year's mortality holds for the rest of your life and does not project future improvements. For that reason it tends to understate the real longevity of people alive now.
Can I enter an age that is not in the table?
No. The current age must match a row in the table exactly, and the rows are single-year ages from 0 to 119. If you enter an age outside that range, the calculator asks for a valid age rather than guessing between rows.
Why does the calculator ask for sex?
Because the SSA publishes separate male and female columns, and the difference is real: at birth the 2023 table shows 75.79 remaining years for males and 81.06 for females. Using the published column for your sex is more accurate than blending the two.
Is this a forecast of how long I personally will live?
No. Every figure is a population average across everyone in the United States at your age and sex. It carries no information about your own health, habits, family history, or circumstances, and should not be read as a personal prediction.