The United States might not become a land full of 120-year-olds after all.
Annuity issuers, long-term care insurers and other companies with an interest in extreme longevity have been planning for the possibility of big increases in how long typical Americans, and especially hardy Americans, live.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, however, that U.S. residents' overall expectation of years of life at birth failed to increase in 2013. The average life expectancy at birth was 78.8 years, unchanged from the average for 2012.
For baby boys, average life expectancy at birth held steady at 76.4 years.
For baby girls, average life expectancy at birth held steady at 81.2 years.
A team at the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC, has published that data in a new set of life tables.
The likelihood that the U.S. residents born in any given year will live to be very old has increased dramatically over the years.