Primetime Living 9.27.26 - Flipbook - Page 16
16
| Sunday, September 27, 2026
FINANCE
Health and Wealth in
the Era of Longevity
How we navigate extended
lives with bonus years
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
P
eople are living longer lives. Those who study geriatrics and gerontology knew
this years ago as did researchers in adjunct professions. The biggest indicator
was when the older adult population, age 65 and up, was greater than that of
those under 18 years of age.
“A longevity
society requires
focusing not only
on the old but
preparing the young
for the challenges
ahead of them.”
—Andrew J. Scott,
The Longevity Imperative
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
in 2020, only three states had more adults
over 65 than children under 18. By 2024,
there were 11 states; today, there are 17.
Plus, of the nation’s 387 metropolitan
areas, a full third, 112, have more older
adults than children. Now we have to figure out how our country will support this
growing demographic.
Both Health and Wealth
It’s referred to as “longevity fitness,”
a way to describe what will enable older
adults to continue to thrive as they age.
Previous generations might have retired
at 65, but this group, comprised mostly of
baby boomers, does not conform to what
was, in the past, the norm.
Two major facets of aging – staying
healthy enough to enjoy it and having
sufficient financial resources to afford it
– have their roots in what their lives were
like when they were younger. If they didn’t
pay attention to staying healthy with a
good diet and plenty of exercise, and
learn to be fiscally responsible, many are
unprepared.
Even more problematic is the health
care workforce, the people who should
be educated to take care of us as we age
but instead are still focused on younger
people. Medical schools and the like are
just not educating or training students
anywhere near the numbers of professionals we need to enable older adults to
remain healthy.
Educating Ourselves for the Future
There are three types of competencies
we need in order to age well, according to
a report by the TIAA Institute:
• Longevity Literacy: Having a clear
and objective understanding of life
expectancy in combination with
financial literacy.
• Financial Literacy: Having the knowledge, skill and competence to make
informed decisions about money,
including how to earn, save, spend,
borrow, and invest it effectively.
• Longevity Fitness: Having the social,
health, and wealth equity needed
to thrive, not just survive, during an
extended lifetime.
Obviously, the earlier you start, the better the outcomes. Share this knowledge
with the younger people in your lives.
Meanwhile, let’s talk about how we are
doing.
Longevity fitness means you recognize you’re going to live longer than you
thought, and you need to develop a plan
for that protracted future. It is about planning your life so that you have the ability
to survive and thrive, focusing on the
elements that support aging.
Aspects of living longer take on additional importance. I previously wrote
about Abbie, now 85, who is thriving with
a very full life. She splits her time between
Maine and Massachusetts and has a very
active social life in both places. She has
family with whom she spends time and
has sufficient financial reserves to manage an unexpected event.
Then there’s Sorena, also 85. She is
starting to struggle and is too proud to
ask for help. Life, as we all discovered
