Gone are the days when a long life was a rarity. With advances in medicine, technology, and health awareness, people are not only living longer but doing so with higher expectations for quality of life. This shift is especially pronounced among HNWIs, as outlined in this year’s Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report, which reveals that across all regions, between 87% and 100% of those asked are taking some measures to increase their longevity.

Whether it’s personalised nutrition plans, cryotherapy, or longevity-focused medical treatments, the investment in ‘living better for longer’ is real. But wellness without financial structure can quickly become unsustainable, particularly when life extends well beyond traditional retirement ages.

What is financial longevity?

Financial longevity is about ensuring that your wealth can fund a life of possibility, however long it may be. It’s about keeping doors open to travel, to innovation, to family legacies, and to global living. That’s especially important for those with cross-border responsibilities, business interests, or children studying abroad.

The Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report highlights a notable shift: HNWIs are increasingly mindful of wealth durability. The majority of respondents globally said they would change their financial strategies if they knew they would live ten years longer than expected. Longevity is prompting a rethink not just of portfolios, but of purpose.

Planning for vitality and vulnerability

Longevity comes with two distinct phases: the ‘healthspan’ – those years of vitality, autonomy, and exploration – and the ‘sickspan’, which may be shorter but can be considerably more costly. Be it late-stage care, assisted living, or advanced treatments, the financial burden of the final chapters of one’s life can be significant.

Informed planning means preparing for both. Funding your healthspan may involve investing in hobbies, wellness retreats, or active travel. Funding your sickspan, meanwhile, requires liquidity, estate clarity, and sometimes cross-jurisdictional healthcare strategies. Wealth needs to work flexibly across these life stages.

Women are redefining legacy and longevity

Statistically, women live longer than men and often marry older partners, resulting in a growing trend: women as the primary wealth holders later in life. According to our research, women across Europe outlive their spouses by 5–15 years on average. For entrepreneurial women – especially those building businesses and raising families across borders – this shift is personal. It signals a growing responsibility not just to manage wealth, but to steward it for a longer horizon.

At Julius Baer, our experts believe that longevity planning for women must address both opportunity and complexity – from managing cross-border estates and supporting philanthropic goals to navigating multigenerational responsibilities. We often encourage high-net-worth individuals to focus on building resilient, personalised wealth strategies that evolve with women’s lives, ambitions, and the legacy they wish to leave behind.

Family wealth for a longer, shared legacy

Wealth used to serve two generations. Today, it may need to support four – or more. This longevity-driven reality creates a far more complex balancing act. Financial strategies must now be designed to evolve over decades, adapting to the needs of children, grandchildren and, in some cases, even great-grandchildren.

Alongside the financial demands of longer life spans, families are also navigating broader generational shifts. With more family members engaged in wealth conversations, priorities can diverge around topics such as philanthropy, sustainability, or digital innovation. Meanwhile, the expectations of younger generations are increasingly shaped by transparency, technology, and values-based decision-making.

In this context, financial longevity requires more than traditional wealth preservation. It calls for adaptable strategies that reflect a family’s evolving identity, open dialogue across generations, and structures that ensure alignment over time. As life spans stretch and family trees grow, it becomes ever more important to plan not just for the next chapter, but for the next century.

Funding the freedom to stay active

Today’s retirees are more mobile, more active, and more engaged than ever before. For many, retirement no longer means winding down. It’s a springboard into passion projects, philanthropy, or even a second career. Julius Baer’s discussions with clients reveals a growing preference among wealthy individuals to  shape retirement on their own terms.

But ambition in retirement requires funding. From maintaining global real estate to supporting children’s ventures, costs often remain high – or even increase. With retirement stretching for over 20 years, traditional accumulation models fall short. Financial longevity demands strategies that adapt to new goals and shifting economic conditions.

Preparing for a longer financial horizon

If you knew you’d live another decade longer than expected, what would you change today? According to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report, the majority of HNWIs would rethink their approach – adjusting asset allocation, rebalancing portfolios, or even revisiting their philanthropic commitments.

So, what does a future-ready wealth strategy look like?

• Plan by biological age, not just birth year: your investment horizon may be longer than you think.
• Diversify across geographies and asset types, balancing risk with opportunity.
• Factor long-term care into estate structures, taking into account legal and tax implications.
• Segment your wealth into purpose-driven “buckets” such as health, passion, education, and legacy.
• Invest in tomorrow: from longevity tech to climate resilience, thematic investing offers both meaning and growth potential.

360 Wealth Management: Joining the dots of your financial life

Applying a holistic approach to wealth can help you bring these complex dimensions together. Our experts map wealth across seven spheres of life – family, business, retirement, real estate, succession, passion, and investment – providing an agile framework that evolves as you do.

Rather than planning in silos, this kind of approach can ensure alignment between your ambitions, assets, and the realities of a longer life. Whether you’re exiting a company, funding an education abroad, or preparing for a smooth generational handover, explore the real-life case studies that are outlined in our 360 Wealth Management guide, available for download here. 

Financial longevity is human longevity

Ultimately, longevity is not just about adding years to your life – it’s about adding life to your years. Financial longevity allows you to live with freedom, purpose, and clarity. 

At Julius Baer, we understand that wealth is not an end in itself, but a means to living well, maintaining your lifestyle, and shaping a legacy that reflects your values. As the world around us changes, one truth endures: your wealth should work as hard, and live as long, as you do.

For more findings, download our latest Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report below, or explore our approach to Wealth Planning here.