Has it ever crossed your mind that you might live to 100? Not so long ago, to reach that landmark was a relatively rare feat. But that’s changing fast. As of mid-2022, there were an estimated 15,120 people aged 100 years or more living in England and Wales — a 3.7% increase on the previous year. The number of centenarians has more than doubled since 2002, and estimates suggest that by 2100 it will have risen to around 1.8 million!
Although you may or may not want to live to be that old, it’s important to be ready for the possibility that you will. However a new book by a world-leading expert on the economics of longevity warns that most people are woefully unprepared for a 100-year lifetime.
Andrew Scott is a best-selling author, a professor at London Business School and a co-founder of The Longevity Forum. His latest book, The Longevity Imperative, is a powerful call-to-action — not just for society and governments but for every one of us.
The book’s main takeaway is that we all need to have in place what the author calls an “evergreening” strategy — a plan for proactively investing in different aspects of our lives to ensure we remain vibrant and productive.
"Our longer lives can be a source of hope and fulfilment,” Scott writes, “if we seize the opportunity to pursue the evergreen agenda, one in which we pursue a sustainable lifestyle both for ourselves as individuals — investing in our finances, health, skills and relationships to support a longer life — and for the planet."
So what does an evergreening strategy look like? Scott encourages readers to focus on seven key areas.
1. Make sure you won’t run out of money
If you live for a whole century you’re going to need substantial savings and investments to avoid the risk of running out of money. Many people, Andrew Scott says, need to adjust their retirement planning to prepare for the possibility of living for decades longer than they were expecting.
"The way we save for retirement was designed for shorter lives,” he writes. “Now we need to save more, and invest smarter, to support longer ones.” Scott is also an advocate of holistic, long-term financial planning.
2. Invest in your physical and mental health
There’s little point in living to 100 if you’re not well enough to enjoy the later stages of your life. So Scott recommends investing in your health through exercise, diet and medical check-ups to prevent chronic diseases.
"Investing in health is not just good for longevity,” he writes, “it's crucial for quality of life. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and preventive medical care are not optional extras in a longer life."
3. Prioritise your personal wellbeing
As well as looking after our health, The Longevity Imperative encourages us to enhance our general, overall wellbeing, by practising mindfulness or meditation, for example, and by spending time on hobbies that bring us joy and relaxation and keep our minds agile.
"Wellbeing isn't just about avoiding illness,” the author writes. “It’s about actively cultivating joy, peace, and satisfaction through engaging in what you love."
4. Continuously update your knowledge and skills
Gone are the days when people would set a retirement date and then never work again. Increasingly they’re choosing to carry on doing work they enjoy — either full-time or part-time, salaried or voluntary — into their 70s and 80s. So Andrew Scott urges readers to keep updating their knowledge and skills.
"In a world where careers last longer,” he writes, “the most valuable skill might be learning how to learn. Lifelong education isn't a luxury; it's a necessity."
5. Nurture your social connections
There is overwhelming evidence that friendships, social interaction and a sense of belonging are vital for our health and wellbeing, and this is especially true after you leave full-time employment. Scott encourages readers to nurture their social networks and to engage in community activities.
"Our relationships are our social capital,” he writes. “Investing in them pays dividends in terms of support, opportunities and happiness throughout our extended lives."
6. Find new things that give meaning
Several studies have shown the importance of having a sense of purpose later in life. Purposeful retirees report higher life satisfaction and resilience, and they also live longer.
Of course, older people find purpose in many different things — caring for grandchildren, voluntary work, travel or hobbies, for example. The key, says the author, is to keep looking for new things to give our lives purpose and meaning. “Purpose isn't static,” he writes. “It evolves as we do.”
7. Develop a longevity mindset
The final aspect to evergreening is arguably the most important. Andrew Scott says we need to see the prospect of a longer life span as an opportunity rather than a challenge.
We should also stop thinking of life as a long career followed by retirement, and view it instead as a series of phases, reviewing our focus and goals as we move from one phase to the next.
"Longevity isn't just about living longer,” Scott writes. “It's about living better. Embracing change and seeing it as an opportunity is key.”
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