How rapidly has longevity changed, and how has that shift affected society?
Life was short.
By the mid-1800s life expectancy had reached the mid-30s in the United States, and in 1900 it was 47 years.
By the end of the century, life expectancy had reached 77 years. By the mid-1800s life expectancy had reached the mid-30s in the United States, and in 1900 it was 47 years.
It gained 30 years in one century—that’s unprecedented.
More years were added to average life expectancy in the 20th century than all the years added in all prior millennia of human evolution combined!
Most of the gains in the first half of the century resulted from reducing childhood mortality, but since 1950 life expectancy at 65 has been rising as well. In fact, life expectancy has increased by about three months a year for some time.
Most people are thinking about growth in longevity in terms of an aging population’s burden on society. But I think we have the opportunity to look at it another way— to reshape current models so that we live decades longer than our ancestors in a way that improves quality of life at all ages.
How might we reshape our understanding of retirement to suit longer lives?
We’re going to completely redefine retirement or get rid of the concept altogether. The old model just won’t work anymore. Most people can’t save enough in 40 years of working to support themselves for 30 or more years of not working. Nor can society provide enough in terms of pensions to support nonworking people that long.
