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Longer lifespans causing rethink of approach to work, retirement

By Chukwuma Muanya
09 June 2023   |   4:00 am
Due to longer lifespans, governments and employers must reshape approaches to retirement to ensure ageing populations can live fulfilling, healthy lives, according to a new World Economic Forum report.

Due to longer lifespans, governments and employers must reshape approaches to retirement to ensure ageing populations can live fulfilling, healthy lives, according to a new World Economic Forum report.

Tagged Living Longer, Better: Understanding Longevity Literacy, the report published yesterday, in collaboration with Mercer, a business of Marsh McLennan, explores how lengthening lifespans are reshaping how individuals view their working lives and retirement. The report offers recommendations for government and employers to ensure they are adequately supporting people in multiple stages of work and retirement.

According to the report, life expectancy increased from an average of 46 to 73 years between 1950 and 2019 and the United Nations forecasts further increases, estimating that global average life expectancy will reach about 81 years by 2100. Longer lifespans are causing individuals, governments and business leaders to rethink their approach to work and retirement.

The report highlights purpose and quality of life in addition to financial health and resilience – themes that are traditionally associated with retirement planning. It offers options that individuals can consider to ensure they are approaching work, learning and retirement in ways that best meet their needs.

Longevity Lead, World Economic Forum, Haleh Nazeri, said: “When it comes to longevity and living longer, healthier lives, everyone has a role on this critical topic.

“How will business support an older workforce and one with growing caregiving needs, what will policymakers do to help all citizens reach retirement equity, and finally, what can individuals do at every life stage to ensure they are able to stay financially resilient in a longer life.”

Executive Director, Investments & Global Chief Investment Strategist, Mercer, Rich Nuzum, said: “Employers are thinking more about the current age distributions within the areas of talent needed to operate their organizations and how to influence the trajectory of these distributions.

“To leverage longevity and fight the war for talent effectively, moving from individual roles to team-based roles can help employers take full advantage of the diverse strengths of teams that comprise a combination of older and younger workers.”

A new survey, Pulse Poll, of almost 400 professionals indicates that women and men view retirement differently. Women, for example, are 55 per cent more likely to say they don’t know if they have saved enough for retirement.

The poll also reveals differences in how younger and older populations view their retirement futures. Both women and those under 40 are more willing to reskill but worry about associated costs. Both groups are also more likely to feel isolated.

The respondent profiles to the Pulse Poll were homogeneous and predominantly included those who had undertaken higher education, were in more senior positions, were likely to be in employment at major global organizations and with a high level of individual agency and financial literacy.

While there are some sample limitations, the survey suggests how the findings can help start a conversation about the challenges faced and can contribute to the development of solutions for the population this group of respondents represents.

According to the report, as people are living longer lives, business and government need to restructure their approach to later life planning. Failing to adopt a multi-stakeholder approach towards longevity will inevitably result in a significant portion of people retiring into poverty.

Recommendations cover three key areas of work and retirement including quality of life, purpose and financial resilience.

Individuals can also reimagine what their longer lives might look like as the three-stage life of school, work and retirement makes way for a multi-stage life that could include lifelong learning, career breaks and new occupations in later life. This includes pursuing upskilling and reskilling opportunities, as well as prioritizing retirement and pension planning if possible.

Increasing longevity globally will require new innovations and solutions to address how people can stay financially resilient in a retirement that may be 20 years longer than their grandparents. With supportive actions from government and employers, individuals will have a chance to try new approaches to longer lives and reassess how they want to study, live, work, save and retire in ways that are different from what has been done in the past century.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organisation for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Speaking on the importance of immigration to the economic and political growth of the country, he said: “Today, one third of our doctors and nearly three quarters of our farmworkers are immigrants, and so many more are essential workers, first responders, and military service members.

“Immigrants own approximately one in five businesses, create millions of jobs, pay hundreds of billions in taxes, and spend even more on American goods. Almost half of all Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants or their kids.

“Immigrants help strengthen our diplomatic and people-to-people ties around the world. It’s simple: immigrants keep our Nation strong and our economy growing. That truth used to be something most of us agreed on.”

He added that “President Ronald Reagan proudly signed a law giving an opportunity to 2.7 million undocumented people to seek permanent residence. President George W. Bush pushed hard for comprehensive immigration reform.

“On day one of my Presidency, I sent the Congress my plan that includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, people with temporary status, farmworkers, and essential workers; smarter border solutions, including more equipment and modern infrastructure; and provisions to clear court backlogs, speed up processing, and protect families.”

He appealed to the American citizens to come together again in a bipartisan way to fix their broken immigration system for good, stressing that his administration would keep using every tool to make the system more elderly and humane until the Congress acts.

“We have announced new pathways for nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti, and other countries in the region to come here lawfully.

“And in May, we joined with partners across the Western Hemisphere to launch a plan to open new centres where people can receive help with applying to come to the United States, rather than making the dangerous trek at the mercy of criminal organizations and smugglers.

“At home, we have expanded whistleblower protections for undocumented workers so they too can call out wage theft or unsafe working conditions, improving things for everyone,” he said.

The American President listed various gains with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which has allowed 800,000 dreamers to live and work freely in the only country they know as home for more than 10 years.

He mentioned that his administration had recently proposed a plan to expand DACA recipients’ access to health care through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

“Immigration has always been essential to America, and this month, we reflect on the strength and spirit of immigrants that have been passed down through families and infused in our nation,” he said.

Recounting his immigration history into America, he said: “This spring, I had the chance to travel back to Ireland, to walk the ground my ancestors walked, and to celebrate the bonds that connect us still. Over the years, stories of that place have become part of my soul.

“I stood beside a cathedral built of bricks that my great-great-great-grandfather supplied. I imagined his son bringing his family across the ocean during the famine of 1850, leaving all they had known for hope on a distant shore.

“I remembered stories of his son – my great-grandfather – who kept those roots alive in Scranton, helping to found the Irish American Association, chairing the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and passing that pride on to his granddaughter – my mom.

“It is a pride that speaks to the history and the values that bind us: immigrant values of hard work, dignity, and respect that I have tried to pass on to my own children and grandchildren.”

He, without mincing words, averred that “Most Americans have their own version of that same story: ancestors who overcame incredible odds to build new lives in this promised land and contribute to the fabric of our nation.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo told those at the event that Nigerians in the diaspora are making the country proud in their different areas of endeavour, urging them to be good citizens wherever they are domiciled.

“Nigerian nationals are often very united when they are abroad, but something else when they return to the country,” Obasanjo had said.

The former president appealed to them to be good citizens, not only outside the country, but also when they return home to Nigeria.

The Balogun Owu thanked the Rutgers University management for the warm reception accorded the delegation and for the “far-reaching engagements.”

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