“The thing about old age – you don’t get a chance to practice.”
That was Mary Maxwell, friend, and resident of the founders of American company, Home Instead Senior Care, speaking at their 2009 Convention.
Her comment was greeted with much laughter, as the truth often is. Ageing is challenging, especially so for Baby Boomers. (Full disclosure I am a loud and proud Baby Boomer --- 1957-- a very good vintage!).
We are the first generation on the planet to get to age 65 and still see a long runway ahead. Unlike previous generations, retirement is now likely to compromise 1/3 of our adult life. But there is no “what to do when you’re expecting” book awaiting us.
Thank goodness for people like Dr. Joe Coughlin. Founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLAb, a multidisciplinary research program created to better understand the behaviour of the 50+ Generation.
I’ve long been a follower of Dr. Joe (as he is known) having read his book, "The Longevity Economy", back in 2017. It was here that I discovered research backing up what I had long been witnessing with our clients – the idea of old age that has been created and accepted by people in society, that of equating old age with disability, is truly at odds with reality.
In fact, older people today are not “old” in the sense of being worn out, sick and inactive. Today’s 65-year-olds are in much better shape than our grandparents were at the same age.
RBC Wealth has joined in partnership with the MIT AgeLAb, and I recently had the opportunity to hear Dr. Joe speak while visiting us in Toronto.
Planning for the future is bigger than just talking about “retirement” planning. It really is all about conscientious longevity planning and Dr. Joe stressed that it requires a new approach to the way we plan and save for our later years.
There’s a lot to talk about so over the next few months I will be writing about “The New Longevity” – living longer, living smarter and living better.
When working on financial plans for clients we ask a lot of questions, but Dr. Joe shared that we should all ask ourselves and our older family members these three: they may sound shallow at first or even whimsical – but they sure got me thinking!
Who’ll change your light bulbs?
It’s really a proxy for who will do the chores around the house that most of us did when we were younger. When you’re 90 do you really want to be climbing a ladder to replace a recessed light bulb in the ceiling (I’m not even allowed to do it today – call me clumsy!).
What if I want an ice cream cone?
The ability to be spontaneous is important to all of us and if you want to go out for an ice cream cone or latte have you situated yourself so that you’re in walking distance if you can no longer drive? Quality of life is about being able to easily and routinely access those little experiences that bring a smile.
Who will I have lunch with?
As many of us witnessed during COVID, social isolation is one of the biggest risk factors for older adults. A vital social community – someone nearby you can call up and go to lunch with once and a while - can make all the difference.
Dr. Joe commented, “Planning where and with whom to retire may be as important as how much it will cost.”
Questions such as these are especially important for women, as eventually a large percentage of us will be living solo. Some estimates say that by age seventy-five 44% will be on their own.
A new and exciting frontier awaits us and to quote Dr. Joe Coughlan, “Baby Boomers will more than likely invent an entirely new life stage.” This shouldn’t come as a surprise. We’re a demographic that has reshaped society at each stage of our lives and we’ll continue doing so as we move into retirement.
Next Month – Dr. Joe says, “The Future is Female.”