Consider this statistic about human longevity: 50% of 5-year-olds who live in the richest economies on the planetplaces like the United States or France or Japancan now expect to live to the ripe old age of 100.
Welcome to the era of the super-agers. Life expectancy in much of the developed world more than doubled last century. And, thanks to advances in medicine, public education and sanitation, human longevity will continue to blossom in the years ahead, demographers say, extending life for many of us into the triple-digit range. Maybe we wont need billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel or Larry Page to fund some kind offountain of youth breakthroughafter all.
The glass-half-empty take is a bit harder to swallow. People are regularly living 30 and 40 years beyond their retirement age at a time when birth rates are in decline. These defining and conflicting demographic trends lead to all kinds of concerns that privately- and nationally-funded pension systems, created in an age when life expectancy wasnt quite so rosy, will fall short of their promise to fully support us once we say goodbye to our careers. The age-old challenge of keeping publicly-funded retirement plans solvent boils down to the question: can society maintain a sufficient population of working-aged people to pay into a national pension plan, thus funding the monthly payouts to retirees?
In May,a surveyof pension fund managers from the United Kingdom bore out fears of a looming demographic time bomb tick, tick, ticking. Asked about the biggest threat to their funds performance, the fund managers No. 1 response was inflation. The second most cited concern? Longevity, or people living too long.
This kind of Malthusian thinking is corrosively misplaced, a growing contingent of retirement experts, economists, and researchers say. With people living longer and healthier lives, they counter, business leaders should nurture this phenomenon, and harness its potentialfor both the demographic on the brink of retirement and their younger cohorts.
This crisis mindset assumes that people will agein the future as they did in the past, that financing 100-year lives is a challenge made insurmountable by the projected insolvency of the Social Security trust fund, and that additional mechanisms for saving, investing, and supplementing income are beyond reach, argued an influential white paper published last year by theStanford Center on Longevity, aresearch collectivefounded by Stanford University professor Laura Carstensen, one of the foremost experts in aging and longevity.This static view of what it means to age distorts our perspectives about longevity in the future, and overlooks the opportunity to change the trajectory of aging and associated costs, by starting now to redesign institutions, practices, and norms so that they align with todays reality, rather than last centurys.
In thebefore times, back in 2018, the Stanford Center on Longevity started to work on this redesign challenge. For example, it developed what it calls a new map of life, a kind of framework for policymakers that sought to advance the longevity discussion towards the many benefits the white-haired population can bring to businesses and society at large. In place of the outdated assumption that older adults drag down productivity and drain societal resources, we take a forward-facing perspective on the economic potential of a more age-diverse population in which older adults contribute inincreasingly significant and measurable ways to thesocial good and to GDP.
Out is talk of the above-60 crowd as a burden on the public purse. In is a newfound understanding and appreciation for whats being called thelongevity economy.
In May, in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum convened a series of high-level discussions about how to harness and capitalize on the longevity economy. The focus was two-pronged: how to support the financial, physical, and mental wellbeing of the soon-to-retire crowd, and how to better leverage their experience and career wisdom for the benefit of their younger colleagues. It was a really outstanding discussion, Haleh Nazeri from the World Economic Forum, who was part of the team organizing the longevity track, toldFortune.
Nazeri, whose work at WEF focuses on longevity and financial wellbeing, has been talking with business leaders and policymakers for the years about the need to rethink retirement systems. In an era of super agers, she says, corporations and governments need to adapt. For starters, the one-size-fits-all retirement plans of the past, where money is saved up to be spent in the later years of life, is neither feasible nor practical, shesargued.
Instead, she offers a few ways todays leaders should be thinking about getting the most out of aging workforces, and how to support employees transition to a new life once their careers wind down.
For starters, employers should accommodate workers by building in so-called on-ramps and off-ramps throughout their working life. Its kind of an elegant way to say people might need breaks throughout their careers, she says. An employee may need a career hiatus to start a family, for example, or care for an elderly or sick loved one, or take a sabbatical to pursue an area of interest outside of work.
These off-ramps should be supported, and even encouraged by managers, she argues. And, when its time for a worker to come back, an on-ramp is needed to smooth out the transition. Many companies are beginning to see the need to allow for career pauses, which may ultimately push the standard retirement age for some workers well into their late 60s and beyond. Prudential Singapore, for example, recently scrapped its retirement age entirely to create a more age-friendly workplace and build in some flexibility for staffers who want to pad their pension nest-egg.
Plus, giving workers the space they need in their pre-retirement years could prove fruitful down the road. Nazeri gives the example of the worker who decides to take a sabbatical mid-career. The experience, she notes, may prove life-changing, opening up opportunities for the worker after she retires.
When it comes to retirement, some employees may find the prospect of leaving a secure career a major jolt. Thats why an organizational plan is needed. One suggestion that came up repeatedly at Davos was the need for phased retirements, Nazeri said. In a phased retirement program, senior staffers, those at or nearing the end of their careers, would begin transitioning to two- or three-day work weeks, she adds, instead of just retiring one dayyou hit 65, and that persons gone.
Executed well, the phased retirement would be minimally disruptiveto the employee, and to her colleagues. It would allow the company to continue to reap the social benefitsthink experienced workers mentoring and on-ramping younger staffof an inter-generational workforce. At the same time, the expectant retiree could maintain both a steady paycheck and hold onto that close bond she has with co-workers. Community is one of the more important thingsas people retire and leave their jobs, they lose that [sense of community], you know, and it can lead to all sorts of things like depression in older age, Nazeri notes.
Nazeri fully acknowledges that COVID has probably inalterably messed with office life and the workplace atmosphere we used to share with our colleagues. But she also sees how the new way of working could make phased retirement scheduling more palatable to managers. After all, the onset of hybrid working, where some of us come into the office two or three days a week, is not an unusual decision anymore, she says.
The practice of phased retirement is gaining traction with companies, and their employees. Earlier this year, the consultancy Mercer LLC, which is working with WEF on the retirement conundrum, found that nearly two in five (38%) of the firms it surveyed offered some kind of phased retirement package for employees.
The longevity discussion is also pushing companies and policymakers to confront the problem of inadequate pensions, particularly in an age of runaway inflation.
In the same survey, Mercer found that 84% of the employees it polled said they plan to work as long as they can for fear their pension is too meager to support them. This problem is particularly acute with women who continue to earn less than men, and therefore have accrued less savings. The focus on earnings shortcomings has given rise to the discussion about living pensions. Like a living wage, a pension should be designed equitably so that workers can actually live off of it.
One organization pushing companies to make employee compensation more generous and fairer is the British non-profit the Living Wage Foundation. Each November, it calculates a real living wage, one based on the cost of living. It challenges employers to adjust salaries according to this annual calculation. So far, scores of companies have signed on to the pledge, including KPMG, Aviva, Burberry, Nestl and Ikea.
One participant, Aviva, believes the living wage approach could be applied to pensions as well. The idea would be to adjust retirees payouts annually so as to ensure their real pension doesnt get clobbered by inflation.
Aviva calls the living pension a game-changer, particularly for women and low-income earners.
Nazeri, for one, applauds the recent flow of ideas to tackle the pension puzzle. Solving it starts with seeing pensioners and the soon-to-retire crowd as an asset to an organization, and to society.
I feel like we need to discuss this even more, she says, because its going to impact the entire world.
Go here to see the original:
Employees are livingand workinglonger. CEOs are introducing initiatives like phased retirements to harness the longevity economy - Fortune
- How dogs are paving the way for human longevity drugs - Longevity.Technology - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Innovative Approaches to Improving Human Longevity - Securities.io - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Top 5 Companies Offering Solutions to Increased Human Longevity - Securities.io - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Morning Medical Update: Gut bacteria and longevity; People with ... - Medical Economics - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Artificial Intelligence and the Aging Process: A Match Made for ... - Down to Game - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Saint Bernard Lifespan: How Long Do Saint Bernards Live? - AZ Animals - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- 'Human Resources' Was Poised to Be Netflix's Longest-Running ... - PRIMETIMER - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Early Life Adversity Doesn't Affect Gorillas Like Other Species - The Good Men Project - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Wellness luminaries, experts to meet in KK - The Borneo Post - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- I grew up with hazardous smoke from forest fires in Asia. Here's what ... - Morningstar - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Workplace Networks Are More Important than Promotions to Engage ... - GlobeNewswire - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Accenture staff working at Google training AI move to unionise - The Australian Financial Review - June 12th, 2023 [June 12th, 2023]
- Hair Wigs and Extension Market Size to Grow by USD 5.26 billion from 2021 to 2026, Growth Driven by Technologi - Black Enterprise - April 10th, 2023 [April 10th, 2023]
- Want to age like a fine wine? Here are some tips for longevity and feeling younger - The Indian Express - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Human body | Organs, Systems, Structure, Diagram, & Facts - January 27th, 2023 [January 27th, 2023]
- Human | Avatar Wiki | Fandom - January 27th, 2023 [January 27th, 2023]
- Calorie Restriction and Fasting Diets: What Do We Know? - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Emma Thompson On Longevity Of Holiday Fave Love Actually But It Is SEX Actually That Is Earning Her Awards Buzz In Leo Grande - Deadline - December 26th, 2022 [December 26th, 2022]
- Heads or tails: What statistical models tell us about the probability of living beyond 110 - The Conversation - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- LinkedIn founder and VC Reid Hoffman says human amplification via A.I. will revolutionize large enterprises in the next five years - Fortune - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Human hibernation is possible and could boost longevity | New Scientist - December 2nd, 2022 [December 2nd, 2022]
- Home - Human Longevity Institute - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity - Mayo Clinic - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Life expectancy - Wikipedia - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Life Expectancy - Our World in Data - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Longevity Investors Conference Gstaad brought together longevity experts and deep-pocketed investors - Cointelegraph - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Search for a Pill That Can Help Dogsand HumansLive Longer - WIRED - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Aging of the Heart Correlates With a Poor Gut Microbiome - Lifespan.io News - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Aditxt, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTX) Announces Development and Publication of a Mathematical Model for Predicting Longevity and Variations of Immune Response... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- FOXO Technologies Announces First Distribution Partner and Begins Product Rollout in California; Expands Executive Team With Insurance Industry Talent... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- A conversation with Holocaust scholar Dr. Irving Berkowitz - South Florida Sun Sentinel - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Nine postdoctoral fellowships in aging research awarded by the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR - EurekAlert - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The 5 Wellness Habits That Slow Down Aging, Science Reveals Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Winning Federal Contracts on the Top 20 Contract Vehicles - Bloomberg Government - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Lawrence Austin promoted to rank of colonel - Winona Times - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The longevity dividend: Work in an era of 100-year lives - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Retirement Savings Calculator - Northwestern Mutual - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Clues to Human Longevity Unearthed in Largescale Mouse Genetic Study - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Can we find ways to live beyond 100? Millionaires are betting on it. - MIT Technology Review - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Restrict Calories to Boost Immune Function - The Epoch Times - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The Black Progress Index: Examining the social factors that influence Black well-being - Brookings Institution - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Kevin Williamson on Scream 6 and Franchise Longevity - Bleeding Cool News - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- 507-Year-Old Clam May Be the World's Oldest Living Being - History of Yesterday - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- I should look forward to early retirement, but I think I'm dreading it - CBC.ca - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- International Coffee Day 2022: How The Beloved Brew Helps Fight Cancer, Kidney Disease And Depression - ABP Live - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Corey Feldman And Jamison Newlander Talk The Lost Boys And The Birth Of The Two Coreys - Forbes - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Proven Levels of Human Longevity | NextBigFuture.com - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Prolonging healthspan by delaying ageing -- NUHS opens Singapore's first Centre for Healthy Longevity to increase healthy lifespan of Singapore... - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- What is the Secret to Longevity in Real Estate? - CandysDirt.com - Candy's Dirt - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Jeff Stukey & Jay Olshansky, Ph.D with Wealthspan Advisors, Interviewed on the Influential Entrepreneurs Podcast Discussing How Aging Science... - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- The Queen of the World - The Atlantic - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- THR Icon: At 100, Norman Lear Looks Back (And Ahead) at Whats Changed Since the Maude Abortion Episode - Hollywood Reporter - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- TIFF 2022: The Colour of Ink Review - ThatShelf.com - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Should Age Be on the Ballot? - Next Avenue - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Was The Spring Water At Balmoral Castle The Secret To Elizabeth II's Longevity? - Nation World News - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- A complete guide to the health benefits of nuts europeantimes.news - The European Times - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Debut Launches its Bio2Consumer Platform to Become the Leader in Vertically Integrated Synthetic Biology - PR Web - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Rapamycin Drug Used in Cancer Therapy Found to Increase Human Lifespan [Study] - Nature World News - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Eating Healthy: Why Eating Grapes Would Increase Lifespan | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News Guardian Life The Guardian Nigeria... - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Beauty Bets on Longevity WWD - WWD - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Analysis of the impact of success on three dimensions of sustainability in 173 countries | Scientific Reports - Nature.com - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- You might have glowing skin in no time by making few easy changes to your skincare routine - TDPel Media - August 30th, 2022 [August 30th, 2022]
- Nucleai Appoints New Head of Pathology to Support Expansion in Biopharmaceutical and Clinical Markets - Business Wire - August 8th, 2022 [August 8th, 2022]
- Daily AI Roundup: Biggest Machine Learning, Robotic And Automation Updates - AiThority - August 8th, 2022 [August 8th, 2022]
- Prolonged and intense heatwave affecting parts of western and northern Europe breaks temperature records; globally, July 2022 was one of three warmest... - August 8th, 2022 [August 8th, 2022]
- YLEM: Augmenting sustainable futures through material exploration and testing - STIRworld - August 8th, 2022 [August 8th, 2022]
- Do you want to live forever? Big Tech and the quest for eternal youth - The New Statesman - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- This startup wants to copy you into an embryo for organ harvesting - MIT Technology Review - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Renewal Bio Acquires Breakthrough Stem Cell Technology With Applications in Infertility and Longevity - Benzinga - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Get married or get a degree to live longer says study, debunking theories of womens longevity over men - Times Now - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Nucleai Appoints New Head of Pathology to Support Expansion in Biopharmaceutical and Clinical Markets - StreetInsider.com - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Some species are immortal but dying of old age is humanity's secret weapon - The Telegraph - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Opinion: Changing When and How Much We Eat May Extend Health Span - The Scientist - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Vieroots uses genome testing to win over a growing tribe of wellness enthusiasts - YourStory - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Herbs radiate and give you youthful skin - The Hans India - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- How Pop Culture, Politics, Science, and Business Got So Old - The Atlantic - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- John Hood: How to read this column | Columnists | journalnow.com - Winston-Salem Journal - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- How Long Is The Human Lifespan? Here's What Studies Have Found | mindbodygreen - mindbodygreen - July 31st, 2022 [July 31st, 2022]
- Why Do We Get Old, and Can Aging Be Reversed? - Quanta Magazine - July 31st, 2022 [July 31st, 2022]
- The Secret to Longevity? Here Are 7 Health Tech Gadgets That Can Help - The Recursive - July 31st, 2022 [July 31st, 2022]