What Is The Future Of Aging Populations?

Across much of the world, life expectancy is on the rise, and while this represents a tremendous achievement in science and healthcare, it also presents a significant challenge for societies as populations not only age, but for whom older people represent an ever growing proportion of society.

I’ve written previously about the challenges of an aging society, with people such as London Business School’s Lynda Gratton and Airbnb’s Chip Conley among the foremost thinkers on the topic. An aging society not only presents obvious challenges in terms of healthcare and retirement, but also in the workplace as Baby Boomers begin to leave the workforce in large numbers, taking valuable expertise with them.

A new report from the U.K.’s Government Office for Science adds its considerable expertise to the debate. The report revolves around 22 peer-reviewed evidence reviews and expert meetings that aimed to debate everything from health and care to housing.

“As the population ages, so will the UK workforce. The productivity and economic success of the UK will be increasingly tied to that of older workers,” the authors explain. “Enabling people to work for longer will help society to support growing numbers of dependents, while providing individuals with the financial and mental resources needed for increasingly long retirements.”

Read more @Forbes