Our ageing population means we face ‘a fundamental redesign of life’

In our work we talked about the challenge of a changing, and ageing, demographic and what that would mean for all charities—whether their mission is the environment, heritage, social care, housing, education or whatever else. The 100-Year Life, a new book by Lynda Grattan and Andrew Scott of London Business School, also reflects on these societal changes. A baby born in the West today will probably live to 105, so if turning 100 becomes normal, then the authors predict there will be ‘a fundamental redesign of life’.

We currently live a ‘three-stage life’: education, career, retirement. We’re adding two more life-stages, one at the beginning of adult life and the other towards the end. The years from 18 to 30 are now a drawn out time of transition, with people leaving home later and exploring new options—bringing demands for meaning and purpose. Older people of the future are affected in a similar way. Retirement will cease to be a single staging point and the very concept may disappear entirely. People from their mid 50s and into their late 80s will develop portfolio careers and they too will demand the flexibility and reskilling to make this possible. They won’t suddenly stop work—they will be in paid and unpaid work longer, balancing caring, retraining or just keeping fit for those extra decades.