How to Use the Life Expectancy by Age Calculator
"Life expectancy" usually refers to the average lifespan calculated at birth, but someone who has already reached a certain age has a longer remaining life expectancy than that birth-year figure suggests. Enter your current age and sex, and this calculator uses CDC and Social Security Administration life table data to estimate how many more years you're expected to live on average, plus your total projected lifespan and remaining days.
Based on 2023 CDC data, life expectancy at birth is 75.8 years for men and 81.1 for women. But a 65-year-old man's remaining life expectancy is 18.2 years — bringing his projected total to 83.2 — and a 65-year-old woman's is 20.7 years, for a total of 85.7. This happens naturally because these figures only account for people who have already survived to that age, avoiding the mortality risks of earlier years.
These numbers are population-level statistical averages — actual outcomes vary widely based on smoking, drinking, exercise habits, family history, and chronic conditions. Use this as a reference point for retirement planning, insurance decisions, or bucket-list goals, not as a firm prediction.
Frequently Asked Questions
This tool interpolates between key age brackets (0, 20, 65, 80) from CDC and Social Security Administration life table data. It's a statistical average — your actual life expectancy can vary significantly based on health, lifestyle, and family history.
Having already survived to a given age means you've already avoided the mortality risks that affect younger people, including infant and childhood mortality. This survivorship effect is why the projected total lifespan tends to rise the older you already are, compared to life expectancy calculated at birth.