There’s no denying that public safety work comes with on-the-job risks. We often hear concerns from Members who believe that their life expectancy is significantly shortened due to the demands of their profession. These concerns may stem from past generations or the loss of a colleague, which can understandably shape one’s perception of longevity. But here’s the good news: once Members celebrate their 65th birthday, the data tells a reassuring story.

The most relevant measure for how long FPPA Members will live is something called conditional life expectancy. Conditional life expectancy measures how long someone is expected to live once they’ve met a certain condition, such as reaching age 65. To look closer, FPPA recently commissioned our actuaries to study projected life expectancy for Members in our defined benefit plans, compared to workers in other professions, both in the public and private sector. The chart below compares the conditional life expectancy for a male still living at 65, and the numbers are encouraging.

The bottom line? Public safety retirees with the stability of a defined benefit plan, like the plans administered by FPPA, tend to live over two years longer than retirees in the general population. Despite the challenges of a career in public safety, your retirement years could last longer than you may have expected. A longer retirement means more time to enjoy what you’ve worked so hard for—and your FPPA benefits are designed to go the distance with you.

¹Social Security data from 2024 SSA Trustees Report,Table V.A4.—Period Life Expectancy, mortalityrates observed for 2021
²Study author’s calculations, PubG-2010H projected to 2021 for consistency with the SSA report
³Study author’s calculations, PubS-2010H projected to 2021 for consistency with the SSA report