The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 25
knowledge to shape the products, marke琀椀ng, and
messaging designed for aging popula琀椀ons.
The second is the re琀椀rement transi琀椀on.
Historically, individuals and systems have treated
re琀椀rement as a cli昀昀 rather than a passage. Today’s
workers envision a transi琀椀on into re琀椀rement
that a昀昀ords them the opportunity to decide
which parts of their professional iden琀椀ty to carry
forward, which to set down, and which new roles
to try on before the change arrives. Systems
can ease that passage too. Employers can o昀昀er
transi琀椀on programs and re琀椀rement consul琀椀ng,
trea琀椀ng the departure from full-琀椀me work as a
process to be supported rather than an event that
simply happens.
“People have the poten琀椀al
to live longer than ever,
and the implica琀椀ons are
reshaping how we work,
re琀椀re, and manage money
over a lengthening lifespan.”
The third is personal 昀椀nance, a landscape
that has shi昀琀ed drama琀椀cally. As responsibility
for funding re琀椀rement con琀椀nues to move to
individuals, people are naviga琀椀ng complexi琀椀es
that barely existed a decade ago. FinTech tools
and planning applica琀椀ons may have made saving
easier, but the same era has brought lightly
regulated investments—from cryptocurrency
to the push to bring alterna琀椀ve assets into
re琀椀rement plans—and a prolifera琀椀on of scams
and bad actors. Prudent choices require personal
responsibility, yes, but also informed judgment
about risks and consequences. Systems have a
role in protec琀椀ng people through educa琀椀on and
sensible regula琀椀on, while individuals must get up
to speed on both the genuinely useful tools and
the pi琀昀alls.
One personal 昀椀nancial challenge deserves
special a琀琀en琀椀on: decumula琀椀on. Saving—or the
accumula琀椀on of wealth—has a琀琀racted enormous
a琀琀en琀椀on and a wave of digital applica琀椀ons.
But spending down those savings—arguably
the harder, more individualized problem—has
a琀琀racted far less.
A昀툀uent individuals can hire advisors to chart
that course. Everyone else, however, is o昀琀en
le昀琀 to improvise, while employers sponsoring
re琀椀rement plans, wary of 昀椀duciary liability,
hesitate to help. Closing that gap, with tools and
guidance aimed squarely at older savers, is one of
the clearest opportuni琀椀es of the coming decade.
For all the structures we can build, it’s
important to also reckon with life’s inherent
messiness. Much of the advice we hear assumes
a 琀椀dy path, but real life rarely cooperates. Many
people have not saved enough for re琀椀rement,
which makes any decumula琀椀on strategy fraught.
People age di昀昀erently, too: Biological age
diverges from calendar age, and health or
cogni琀椀ve func琀椀on may not hold up as we hope.
The conversa琀椀ons that ma琀琀er most—such as what
happens if cogni琀椀ve decline sets in—are ones
most people postpone. By the 琀椀me they become
urgent, the range of op琀椀ons may be more limited.
Messiness, in other words, is predictably
unpredictable. We can design suppor琀椀ve systems
and equip individuals with good habits and the
knowledge to make informed decisions. But
the surest response to a future we cannot fully
foresee is to start thinking, planning, and talking
about these ques琀椀ons sooner rather than later.
We are fortunate that increasing longevity is
possible for so many of us. Whether it becomes
a source of security or stress depends on the
choices we make, individually and collec琀椀vely,
today.
A D ECA D E O F P RO GRE S S , A D ECA D E TO ACT 21
