Life Expectancy Calculator

Estimate remaining life expectancy from IRS Table 2010CM or the SSA's 2021 Period Life Table.

Per IRS Table 2010CM (Unisex), a 40-year-old has a life expectancy of 40.5 more years, to an expected age of 80.5.

Years Remaining

40.5

Expected Final Age

80.5

50% Survival Age

Probability of Surviving to This Age

Estimates only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Life expectancy figures show up everywhere in financial planning: sizing a retirement nest egg, valuing a charitable remainder trust's income stream, or deciding when to claim Social Security. But the number itself depends heavily on which actuarial table and which convention you use. This calculator estimates remaining life expectancy from two different real, published tables, and shows the full year-by-year survival curve behind the headline number, not just the average.

For couples, it also computes joint "first death" and "last survivor" expectancies: the figures that actually matter for a joint income stream or a two-life trust, which are neither person's individual life expectancy.

How does this calculator work?

Choose IRS Table 2010CM (the current unisex mortality table behind this site's charitable trust calculators, adopted in 2023) or the SSA's 2021 Period Life Table, which is sex-specific and reflects a single recent year of U.S. mortality experience rather than a long-term projection.

Enter a current age (and sex, for the SSA table). The calculator derives life expectancy using the standard actuarial curtate method: summing the survival probabilities the table implies for every future age, which is the same underlying approach both tables' own published life-expectancy figures use.

Switch to Two Life mode to add a second person's age (and sex). The calculator then computes first-death (the point where there's a 50% chance neither has died yet) and last-survivor (the point where there's a 50% chance at least one is still alive) expectancies using the same union/intersection survival math behind this site's two-life CRUT and CRAT calculators.

Worked example

A 40-year-old, evaluated under IRS Table 2010CM versus the SSA 2021 Period Life Table (male).

IRS Table 2010CM: years remaining: 40.5 years (to age ~80.5)
SSA 2021 (male): years remaining: 36.6 years (to age ~76.6)
Two-life example: 40M / 38F, first death: ≈34.3 years
Two-life example: 40M / 38F, last survivor: ≈48.6 years

How the numbers work

The two tables disagree by about 4 years at age 40 because they're built for different purposes: Table 2010CM is a unisex table adopted by the IRS specifically for valuing trusts and annuities, generally more conservative (longer-lived) than a single year's observed population mortality, while the SSA table reflects actual 2021 U.S. mortality for men specifically.

For the couple, the first-death expectancy (≈34.3 years) is shorter than either individual's expectancy alone, because it only takes one of the two to die to end that period. The last-survivor expectancy (≈48.6 years) is longer than either individual's, because it takes both to die to end it. This is why joint life planning numbers look so different from single-life ones.

There's no single "correct" life expectancy. The right table depends on what you're using it for. Use IRS Table 2010CM when the number needs to match a trust or annuity valuation, and a sex-specific table like the SSA's when you want a closer match to your own individual mortality experience.

For any planning involving two people, such as a joint annuity, a survivor pension, or a two-life trust, use the first-death or last-survivor figures, not an individual life expectancy, since neither person's own number reflects what actually matters for a joint income stream.

Life expectancy is also the hinge of retirement planning, where outliving savings is the core risk, and it feeds the IRS remainder factors behind every trust deduction.

Life Expectancy Calculator glossary

IRS Table 2010CM: The current unisex mortality table adopted by the IRS in 2023 (T.D. 9974) for valuing annuities, life estates, and remainder interests: the table behind this site's CRUT, CRAT, and CLT calculators.
SSA 2021 Period Life Table: The Social Security Administration's sex-specific mortality table reflecting a single year (2021) of observed U.S. mortality, rather than a long-range projection.
Curtate Life Expectancy: The standard actuarial method of deriving expected remaining years from a table of survival probabilities by age, adding a half-year adjustment for deaths occurring, on average, mid-year.
First-Death Expectancy: For two people, the expected time until the first of the two dies. Always shorter than either individual's life expectancy alone.
Last-Survivor Expectancy: For two people, the expected time until both have died. Always longer than either individual's life expectancy alone.
50% Survival Age: The age by which there's an even chance the person (or, in two-life mode, the pair) has died: the median outcome, as distinct from the average (mean) life expectancy.

Life Expectancy Calculator FAQs

Which table should I use?+

Use IRS Table 2010CM if you need a figure consistent with a trust, annuity, or other actuarial valuation under current IRS rules. Use the SSA 2021 table if you want a sex-specific estimate closer to recent observed U.S. mortality for general planning purposes.

Why is life expectancy sometimes shown as an age and sometimes as years remaining?+

They're the same number, just framed differently. "Years remaining" is life expectancy relative to your current age, while "expected final age" adds your current age to it. Neither is a prediction for any one individual; both are statistical averages across everyone the table represents at that age.

Why is a couple's first-death expectancy shorter than either person's individual expectancy?+

Because it only takes one person's death to end the "first death" period, its probability compounds faster than either individual's mortality alone. Mathematically, it's the probability that *either* person has died, which is always higher (and so the expected time shorter) than either alone.

Is this the same as the IRS Single Life Table used for RMDs?+

No. The IRS publishes a separate table specifically for required minimum distributions from retirement accounts, which uses different (generally longer) factors than Table 2010CM. This calculator uses Table 2010CM because it's the table behind this site's trust and annuity calculators, not the RMD table.