As individuals are more likely to get severely disabled in old age, women end up having an overall higher chance of becoming severely disabled because women live longer. In 2018, the average life expectancy at birth for women is 85.4 years as compared to 80.9 years for men. 3 in 5 healthy women at age 65 are expected to become severely disabled, compared to 2 in 5 healthy men at age 65.