The global increase in life expectancy is driving a significant structural transformation in society.
Extended lifespans offer the potential for greater prosperity, but only if societal systems evolve accordingly.
If adaptation occurs swiftly, longevity can serve as a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive growth across generations.
Between 2000 and 2019, average global life expectancy increased from 67 to 73 years, with projections indicating it will exceed 77 by 2050. This represents a major advancement. However, such gains also introduce secondary effects. While total life expectancy has risen significantly, healthy life expectancy has not kept pace, resulting in a nearly two-year shortfall. This discrepancy increases pressure on healthcare systems, strains family structures, and diminishes productivity.
Meanwhile, the financial systems supporting later life have not evolved to match these changes. Many individuals are entering retirements lasting 20 to 30 years without sufficient resources, leading to an estimated global retirement savings gap of $400 trillion by 2050. This mismatch can lead to cascading structural imbalances. What should be a demographic advantage risks becoming a fiscal crisis, as institutions designed for shorter, more linear life courses struggle to meet the demands of extended longevity.
We are witnessing the gradual breakdown of three interconnected systems: health, wealth, and work. Each is under pressure and reinforces the vulnerabilities of the others. Together, they form a systemic risk triad threatening long-term prosperity.
Non-communicable diseases now account for over 50% of the global adult disease burden. The consequences extend beyond health systems, including reduced productivity, accelerated workforce exits, and rising long-term care expenditures. As health deteriorates, a country’s ability to maintain a functioning labor force weakens.
Despite many individuals retaining the capacity and desire to work beyond traditional retirement ages, outdated institutional frameworks still enforce binary workforce exits. Labor force participation for ages 55–64 remains high (66.6% for women; 80.8% for men in OECD countries), yet the economic potential of older workers is largely overlooked. This represents a systemic inefficiency: just as experience becomes most valuable, it is discarded.
The world has entered a new phase of demographic development where people are living longer and healthier lives. As government pension schemes are generally ill-equipped to manage this change, insurers and other private-sector stakeholders have an opportunity to step in.
Only 55% of adults in developing economies can mobilize emergency funds within 30 days. This fragility compounds over time. By 2060, unreformed pension systems alone are projected to increase fiscal pressure by 3–4 percentage points of GDP. If this trend continues, it could result in older populations with inadequate savings, governments facing unsustainable transfer obligations, and narrowing margins for reforms before defaults or austerity become unavoidable.
These challenges are not isolated; they form a mutually reinforcing system of vulnerability. Poor health accelerates financial depletion, while inadequate savings restrict healthcare access. Premature and binary retirement amplifies both dynamics. The result is expanding ‘vulnerability zones’ where populations outlive their health and wealth.
To resolve this, we must build a resilience loop where we reimagine these stress points as strategic leverage points. This means compressing health gaps, deepening financial resilience, and extending age-inclusive productivity through coordinated system design.
Healthspan, not lifespans, will be the determinant of 21st-century prosperity. The global disease burden in later life could be delayed or prevented through behavioral and environmental interventions, reducing much of the strain that healthcare systems face.
Systems are shifting toward precision-prevention: integrating behavioral, environmental, and biometric data into dynamic risk-scoring, real-time incentives, and health-linked financial products. Shared-value insurance models reward consistent wellness, while outcome-based reimbursement is replacing volume-based care. Countries embedding prevention into universal coverage already compress morbidity and reduce cost burdens.
A single healthy year, in some cases, is worth more than twice GDP-per-capita. The returns on prevention are personal and national.
Securing a longer, healthier life alone, however, is insufficient if economic systems fail to harness the potential of the silver age. Institutional norms still treat age 65 as a full stop. Yet, the phased-retirement and employment-adjustment subsidy in Japan and longevity-linked pensionable ages in Denmark prove otherwise: employment among 65–69-year-olds can exceed 50% when systems adapt.
The future demands adaptive careers: income protection for caregiving breaks, portable micro-credentials for re-skilling, and learning wallets that grow over time. These tools extend productive participation, reduce fiscal dependency, and unlock the full potential of multigenerational teams, already shown to boost productivity by 10–12%.
Longer lives require financial systems that sustain functional independence. A more robust approach links income generation, health, and savings across the life course. This includes auto-escalating retirement contributions, integrated health-and-wealth accounts, and behavioral nudges that guide mid-career financial planning. Critically, financial tools must reward positive action. Shared-value credit products, baby bonds vesting at health/education milestones, and health-impact bonds that repay investors based on population health gains can crowd in capital and align incentives.
These systems do not operate in isolation. Financial stability supports healthier decisions. Good health enables longer contributions to society. Meaningful work builds lasting resilience.
But to achieve this vision, we need clear metrics and coordinated policies. Metrics like healthy-life-expectancy, financial resilience, and inclusive participation translate aspirations into measurable targets, guiding national and corporate strategies. A multisectoral policy framework must replace fragmented efforts, aligning health, employment, and finance to reinforce gains across healthspan, workspan, and wealthspan.
Capital must be mobilized through innovative vehicles and targeted instruments that reward long-term value creation, enabling a re-engineering of systems, regulations, and investment norms toward the structural shifts needed for a longevity-ready economy. This requires cultivating an appetite for intergenerational impact and a commitment to sustained, systemic resilience, laying the foundation for an economy that advances individual well-being and collective prosperity.
The question is no longer whether populations are aging and demographics are shifting. It is whether we are adapting quickly enough. If we do, longevity can become a powerful engine for sustainable, inclusive growth across generations.
— News Original —
Why society must adapt to our longer lives
The rapid increase in global life expectancy is creating an important structural shift in society.
Longer lives create the possibility for greater prosperity, but only if society adapts accordingly.
If we can adapt quickly enough, longevity can become a powerful engine for sustainable, inclusive growth across generations.
The rapid increase in global life expectancy is creating an important structural shift. Between 2000 and 2019, average global life expectancy rose from 67 to 73 years and projections suggest it will surpass 77 by 2050. That’s a monumental gain. But, like many large gains in life, it brings second-order effects. Longer lives create the possibility for greater prosperity, but only if society adapts accordingly.
At the core of this shift is a growing divergence between how long people live and how well they live. While total life expectancy rose significantly, healthy life expectancy lagged, creating a nearly two-year shortfall. This creates upward pressure on healthcare costs, strains family structures and reduces productivity.
Meanwhile, the financial architecture underpinning later life has not kept pace. Many people are entering retirements that last 20 to 30 years without the means to sustain them, leading to a projected global retirement savings gap of $400 trillion by 2050. This divergence can create cascading structural imbalances. What should be a demographic dividend risks becoming a fiscal time bomb, as institutions built for shorter, more linear life courses struggle to adapt and meet the demands of longevity.
The triple helix of human capital risk
We are witnessing the slow unravelling of three interconnected systems: health, wealth and work. Each is under pressure and each reinforces the others’ vulnerabilities. Together, they form a triad of systemic risk threatening long-term prosperity.
The health capital crisis
Non-communicable diseases now command over 50% of global adult disease burden. The implications cascade beyond health systems. Diminished productivity, accelerated workforce exodus and ballooning long-term-care expenditures, which compound exponentially. As health deteriorates, a country’s ability to sustain a functioning labour force weakens.
The work capital paradox
Despite many retaining the capacity and desire to work well-beyond traditional retirement ages, outdated institutional frameworks still trigger binary workforce exits. Labour force participation for ages 55–64 remains high (66.6% for women; 80.8% for men in OECD countries), yet the full economic potential of older workers is largely ignored. This is a systemic inefficiency: just as accumulated experience becomes most valuable, we discard it.
Discover
What is the World Economic Forum doing about including older people in the workforce?
There is a global myth that productivity declines as workers age. In fact, including older workers is an untapped source for growth.
The world has entered a new phase of demographic development where people are living longer and healthier lives. As government pension schemes are generally ill-equipped to manage this change, insurers and other private-sector stakeholders have an opportunity to step in.
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The World Economic Forum, along with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and AARP, have created a learning collaborative with over 50 global employers including AIG, Allianz, Aegon, Home Instead, Invesco and Mercer. These companies represent over two million employees and $1 trillion in annual revenue.
Learn more in our impact story.
The wealth capital deficit
Only 55% of adults in developing economies can mobilize emergency funds within 30 days. That fragility compounds too. By 2060, unreformed pension systems alone are projected to increase fiscal pressure by 3-4 percentage points of GDP. If this transpires, it could result in older populations with inadequate savings, governments facing unsustainable transfer obligations and narrowing margins for reforms before defaults or austerity become unavoidable.
These challenges are not isolated. They form a mutually reinforcing system of vulnerability. Poor health accelerates financial depletion. Inadequate savings restrict healthcare access. Premature and binary retirement amplifies both dynamics. The result is expanding ‘vulnerability zones’ where populations outlive their health and wealth.
To resolve this, we must build a resilience loop where we reimagine these stress points as strategic leverage points. This means compressing health gaps, deepening financial resilience and extending age-inclusive productivity through coordinated system design.
Rewiring health capital: From treatment to prevention
Healthspan, not lifespans, will be the determinant of 21st-century prosperity. The Global disease burden in later life could be delayed or prevented through behavioural and environmental interventions, reducing much of the strain that healthcare systems face.
Systems are shifting towards precision-prevention: integrating behavioural, environmental and biometric data into dynamic risk-scoring, real-time incentives and health-linked financial products. Shared-value insurance models reward consistent wellness, while outcome-based reimbursement is replacing volume-based care. Countries embedding prevention into universal coverage already compress morbidity and reduce cost burdens.
A single healthy year, in some cases, is worth more than twice GDP-per-capita. The returns on prevention are personal and national.
Redesigning work capital: Towards age-inclusive productivity
Securing a longer, healthier life alone, however, is insufficient if economic systems fail to harness the potential of the silver age. Institutional norms still treat age 65 as a full stop. Yet, the phased-retirement and employment-adjustment subsidy in Japan and longevity-linked pensionable ages in Denmark prove otherwise: employment among 65–69-year-olds can exceed 50% when systems adapt.
The future demands adaptive careers: income protection for caregiving breaks, portable micro-credentials for re-skilling and learning wallets that grow over time. These tools extend productive participation, reduce fiscal dependency and unlock the full potential of multigenerational teams, already shown to boost productivity by 10–12%.
Repurposing financial capital: Building resilience across life
Longer lives require financial systems that sustain functional independence. A more robust approach links income generation, health and savings across the life course. This includes auto-escalating retirement contributions, integrated health-and-wealth accounts and behavioural nudges that guide mid-career financial planning. Critically, financial tools must reward positive action. Shared-value credit products, baby bonds vesting at health/education milestones and health-impact bonds that repay investors based on population health gains can crowd in capital and align incentives.
A new paradigm to thrive in the longevity economy
These systems do not operate in isolation. Financial stability supports healthier decisions. Good health enables longer contributions to society. Meaningful work builds lasting resilience.
But to achieve this vision, we need clear metrics and coordinated policies. Metrics like healthy-life-expectancy, financial resilience and inclusive participation translate aspirations into measurable targets, guiding national and corporate strategies. A multisectoral policy framework must replace fragmented efforts, aligning health, employment and finance to reinforce gains across healthspan, workspan and wealthspan.
Capital must be mobilized through innovative vehicles and targeted instruments that reward long-term value creation, enabling a re-engineering of systems, regulations and investment norms towards the structural shifts needed for a longevity-ready economy. This requires cultivating an appetite for intergenerational impact and a commitment to sustained, systemic resilience, laying the foundation for an economy that advances individual well-being and collective prosperity.
The question is no longer whether populations are ageing and demographics are shifting. It is whether we are adapting quickly enough. If we do, longevity can become a powerful engine for sustainable, inclusive growth across generations.