Retire at 80! — So says university professor and longevity expert
Focusing on living longer more as an opportunity and less as a problem, studies point to a need for life redesign, emotional and cognitive flexibility.
Need for new societal models to tap into the wealth of human capital from the largest and fastest growing population of older citizens in human history
Since 1900, human lifespan has nearly doubled, adding an extra 30 years of life, on average. This fact has been the lifelong focus of psychology professor Dr. Laura Carstensen, who is founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.
Through the 20th Century, more years were added to average lifespans than during the entire millennia of human evolution combined, according to population statistics.
Life expectancy in the United States is close to reaching the 80-year mark, according to statistics from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. The U.S. will soon join 17 other countries where life expectancy is already 80.5 or older.
“Old age as a normative stage in life is brand new, a great social achievement since the 20th Century. But we continue to live between the culture that guides us through life and the length of time that we’re actually living,” says Dr. Carstensen.
“We continue to live our lives today by models that evolved around lives half as long. That is, get all your education early in life; marry; have a few kids; work like a dog; retire; and — shortly thereafter — die.”
“Now that model made sense when people were living — on average —to 60 (in around 1935). But when people are living on average to soon 90s, or even to 100, that model doesn’t make any sense at all. So we need to quickly find ways to redesign life so that we can stretch out all of those parts of life that are so important — and thereby improve quality of life — not just for older people, but for young parents and adolescents and children,” says Dr. Carstensen.
Tapping a brand new population of knowledge and experience for the first time in history
“When people express great unease about societies top-heavy with older people, I think they’re missing a great opportunity to tap a resource that has never existed before in human history. That is, millions of older people who have great knowledge, who have their major personal accomplishments in raising their children and reaching the peak of their careers behind them, who are emotionally stable and focused outwardly on the world and society — that we’ve got that! We’ve got that group for the first time ever!… And one of the most exciting things that we can do today is to think about ways to tap that resource.” — Dr. Laura Carstensen
Living longer means helping people reinvent themselves
Today, 65-year-olds in the U.S. have the same mortality risks as 59-year-olds did in 1970. This extension, unprecedented in human history, means far greater likelihood of “second acts” in career — and in life — well past the traditional retirement age of 66 (the current age of eligibility for Social Security). “We need to help individuals reinvent themselves,” says Dr. Carstensen.
Adaptability in a new world of flexible work, continuous learning and re-education
Current models place us on a life path not much different than the one we had in 1945, when life expectancy was around 65. New models suggest a need for adaptability as we live longer — well into our 80s or 90s. This means that our peak performance now takes place later in life — and often more than once.
Steady full-time employment can typically only begin at age 40 today; part-time and flexible work are becoming more the norm, both at the beginning of our working lives and later on; taking time out to re-train and re-educate is becoming more common and more frequent for greater numbers of people.
Thus, retirement looks more appropriate at age 80 than 65, according to Dr. Carstensen.
Thirty Extra Years — Growing older is perhaps the greatest cultural achievement in human history
Dr. Laura Carstensen: “In my mind, it’s really curious, how a species can nearly double the length of their lives and complain about it. Only humans, right!… we’ve got, on average, 30 extra years — to realize our dreams, to spend time with our families, to pursue our work and our goals — and to say that’s a bad thing is laughable to me.”
“Of course this is a good thing. This may be the greatest cultural achievement in human history — that in less than a century we’ve nearly doubled the time people can live — this is extraordinary.”
However, when the culture that’s guiding us along was designed when we lived half as long, there’s obviously a big mis-match.
But, as Dr. Carstensen reminds us, cultures can change. And cultures often do change. But it takes time.
Sources
“A Stanford researcher says we shouldn’t start working full-time until age 40” — by Corinne Purtill, Quartz at Work, published on June 27, 2018. https://work.qz.com/1314988/stanford-psychologist-laura-carstensen-says-careers-should-be-mapped-for-longer-lifespans/
Good News About Aging with Dr. Laura Carstensen — video interview Stanford Professor Dr. Laura Carstensen by AARP Washington, published January 28, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jahTGyma7j8
