Life Expectancy of a 71-Year-Old Man

By Sohail Manzoor · Updated

14.2 years left on average (about 741 weeks), to about age 85.2.

The CDC's 2024 US life table gives a 71-year-old man 14.2 more years on average, against 16.2 for a woman the same age. At 66 a man had 17.6 years left, so the five years from 66 to 71 took only 3.4 years off his remaining average. Required minimum distributions from IRAs and most 401(k)s start at 73.

85.4Half live past this age
90.71 in 4 live past this age
1.6%Chance of reaching 100

Use your exact birth date The calculator adds months since your last birthday and shows your life in weeks.

Chance of reaching each age

AgeChance a 71-year-old man reaches it
7590%
8073%
8552%
9028%
959.6%
1001.6%

Chance of being alive in 1, 5 and 10 years

Time from nowChance of being aliveChance of dying within that time
1 year97.6%2.4% (about 1 in 42)
5 years87%13% (about 1 in 8)
10 years69%31% (about 1 in 3)

For a 71-year-old man, the chance of dying in the next 12 months is about 1 in 42, on 2024 US death rates.

Survival curve

0%25%50%75%100%8090100
Share of people aged 71 still alive at each later age (CDC 2024 male life table).

Men, women and everyone at age 71

Life tableYears leftAverage age reachedHalf live pastChance of 90
Male14.285.285.428%
Female16.287.287.638%
Everyone15.386.386.634%

Nearby ages

AgeYears left (male)Average age reached
6617.683.6
6716.983.9
6816.284.2
6915.684.6
7014.984.9
7114.285.2
7213.585.5
7312.985.9
7412.286.2
7511.686.6
7611.087.0

Remaining years by age

Men aged 71 have 14.2 years left on average. At 76 they have 11.0 and at 81 they have 8.1.

0102030406080100
Average years left at each age: solid line women, dashed line men (CDC 2024 US life tables).

Life expectancy at other ages (men)

How these numbers work

71,702 of every 100,000 babies on the 2024 male table are still alive at 71, and 49,640 at 81. So 69% of 71-year-olds make it to 81. Half have died by 85.4, the median age, and by 95 only 6,890 of the original 100,000 are left.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, United States Life Tables, 2024 (Table 2, males). Educational information, not medical or financial advice.

Life expectancy at 71 questions

How long will a 71-year-old man live?

14.2 more years is the average on the 2024 table, which takes a 71-year-old man to about 85.2. Half of men this age live past 85.4, and 1 in 4 past 90.7.

What are the chances a 71-year-old man lives to 90?

28 in 100, on 2024 US death rates. For 80 it is 73 in 100, and for 100 it is 1.6 in 100.

Is this a prediction for me?

No. It is the average for all men aged 71 in the US on 2024 death rates. Health, habits, income and where you live can move your own number by years either way.

Related pages

Page by Sohail Manzoor, Software Engineer and Full-Stack Developer. Data: CDC NCHS, United States Life Tables, 2024 · Educational statistics, not medical advice.

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