The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 44
In Pursuit of
Longevity Fitness:
Thriving in the Era of Longer Lives
Surya Kolluri
Mar琀椀 DeLiema, PhD
Head, TIAA Ins琀椀tute
Gerontologist and Associate
Professor, School of
Social Work, University of
Minnesota
hen we speak to na琀椀onal audiences
and ask, “Who wants to live a long
life?” most audience members raise
their hands enthusias琀椀cally. But when we specify
the condi琀椀ons that need to be met to live well into
a long life—having enough money, planning for
declining health, and avoiding social isola琀椀on in
a 琀椀me of loss of friends and kin—the hands come
down, one by one. This simple truth captures the
central challenge of our era. A longer life is not
automa琀椀cally a be琀琀er life. It depends en琀椀rely on
how prepared we are to meet the demands and
adapt to the challenges of longer lifespans.
We have spent the past decade studying what
longer lives demand. We learned that it is more
than a 昀椀nancial planning challenge. Aging people
face four compounding risks: 昀椀nancial, cogni琀椀ve,
W
40
physical, and social. Each risk carries its own
weight. Each interacts with the others. A decline in
one area will strain all the others. The capacity to
manage all four risks at once across the full arc of
a longer life is something we call longevity 昀椀tness.
The opportunity of longer lives is real only when
people are prepared for the risks those lives carry.
Financial risks associated with longevity
have been well studied. Research conducted by
the TIAA Ins琀椀tute shows that only one in three
adults can answer basic ques琀椀ons about how
long people typically live a昀琀er age 65.36 When
people underes琀椀mate their lifespan, they save too
li琀琀le, plan for too few years, and fail to convert
accumulated wealth into steady life琀椀me income.
This is known as decumula琀椀on of re琀椀rement
savings.
MIL K EN I N S T I T U T E | T H E FU T U RE O F AGI N G A N D LO N GEV I TY
