The Longevity Economy: A $15 Trillion Market by 2050

The longevity economy isn’t just about living longer. It’s about living better — and building smarter. By 2050, 1 in 6 people will be over 65. That’s over a billion people. And yet, most innovation is still focused on late-stage healthcare. But here’s the truth: 🧓🏾 Healthy ageing depends as much on financial security and cultural relevance as it does on medicine. When systems rely on out-of-pocket payments, older adults delay care, lose autonomy — and systems buckle under cost. 💡 For builders and educators, that’s not just a challenge — it’s an invitation. Because the $15 trillion longevity economy is growing fast — and the solutions can’t just be western, institutional, or top-down. In much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America: Family businesses act as pensions. Informal carers are the safety net. Elders are seen as mediators and mentors — not dependents. Too many models ignore that. So they fail. Quietly, expensively, and predictably. What can we do instead? 🔹 Build tools for the informal economy: 💰 Micro-pensions, savings, and financial tools that meet people where they actually work. 🔹 Support caregivers as infrastructure: 🧑🍼 Tech, subsidies, wraparound services — because burnout doesn’t scale. 🔹 Back culturally-aligned models: 🏡 Intergenerational housing, community clinics, family business succession tools. Because healthy ageing isn’t just the next healthcare play — It’s the next resilience play. Builders who get this right will not only extend lives — they’ll enhance their quality, and lead in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. 👉 At Kaleidoscope, this is the kind of intersectional strategy we love to design — where social resilience and ROI grow together. #LongevityEconomy #HealthyAging #BuilderEconomy #InclusiveDesign #InformalEconomy #CareInfrastructure #SocialResilience #ImpactStrategy #KaleidoscopeEarth

The secret formula for longer, healthier, and productive lives: Economist Andrew Scott recently spoke to Oliver Wyman Forum's Rupal Sachdev Kantaria to uncover the secret and here's the summary. Longevity as an opportunity, not a crisis: The increase in life expectancy presents a major opportunity if society shifts its mindset and adapts institutions—such as education, careers, and health systems—to support longer, healthier, and productive lives across all ages. Focus on prevention and holistic health: Health systems need to move from treating diseases toward prevention, leveraging advances like early data-driven interventions, lifestyle changes, and environmental factors to improve health outcomes and reduce chronic conditions. Unlocking economic and social potential of older workers: Businesses can benefit from engaging older workers by offering age-friendly, flexible job roles supported by technology, which helps maintain productivity, boosts GDP, and creates intergenerational career opportunities. Read the write-up of the full interview: https://owy.mn/4o9hZmi

From Silver → to Longevity → to the Lifetime (younger) economy Silver economy: purpose-built products/services for the 50+ market. Preserve health and wellbeing. Pension planning, succession planning. Inclusive technology and policies. Longevity economy: intergenerational redesign of work, health, finance and policy to fund longer lives. Lifetime economy: younger cohorts preparing for 70-year careers, early financial longevity, and preventive health — a growth arena often overlooked by providers. What organisations should do now: • Understand that needs and requirements that come along with the longevity industry are distinct and different per segment. • Build longevity-literate products (income smoothing, career breaks, caregiver cover) that factor in the change or needs over time. • Invest in lifelong learning/reskilling infrastructure. • Shift from age segmentation to intergenerational design. Wellthspan Advisory helps organisations, employers and interested individuals win across healthspan + wealthspan. #LongevityLiteracy #Lifetimeeconomy #Longevityeconomy #Silvereconomy #WellthspanAdvisory

In 2022, France ranked 23rd in the world in our Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index (https://lnkd.in/dj54diAQ). It performs well on life expectancy, income, environment, and happiness. But when it comes to workspan (broadly the number of years people work as adults) the picture changes dramatically. France ranks 114th globally, with an average workspan of just 28.09 years. That’s a modest improvement from 2019 (27.64 years, ranked 119th), but still well below the UK average of 31.1 years. Workspan is a key driver of economic resilience in ageing societies. And in France, reform is hard. Fragmented politics, weak government majorities, and the rise of both far-right and far-left parties make consensus elusive. Fiscal pressures from ageing, austerity, and unpopular spending cuts add to the challenge - especially when pension age increases spark widespread unrest. As John Burn-Murdoch recently noted, French pensioners now have higher incomes than working-age adults. That’s economically troubling, especially given the “retirement consumption puzzle”: older people tend to underconsume relative to their wealth, in France as in the UK. France isn’t alone. Italy faces similar demographic headwinds. Despite a long-lived population, Italy performs even worse on workspan. Its large informal economy (around 31% of GDP) likely hides higher levels of work though - but also complicates policy responses. France may be in better health than the UK. It has lower obesity rates, stronger access to core health services, and seemingly better outcomes for major conditions like heart attacks and strokes. France must find a way to extend workspan, tackle intergenerational wealth inequality, and boost productivity. But with political paralysis, it’s hard to see how. Without reform, economic growth will slow - and France’s position may begin to slide. The UK faces a different, but equally urgent challenge. We also need to extend workspan - ideally to closer to 34 years - but poor health is a major barrier. That means serious investment in prevention and health improvement. Right now, we have a government with a majority. It’s a majority they need to use. Without bravery - and a willingness to take unpopular decisions - we risk our own kind of paralysis. Not unlike France. International Longevity Centre - UK Arunima H. Ben Franklin

Time to understand that Longevity Economy is not homogeneous but needs to be separated! People mix up three ideas: 👵 silver economy 🧬 longevity economy 👶 and what is starting to be reconized the lifetime economy. Silver economy: markets serving the 50+ population (healthcare, housing, assistive tech, senior travel). Longevity economy: the cross-generational transformation of work, finance and health driven by longer lives. The umbrella. Lifetime economy (emerging): the youth-focused side of longevity — continuous reskilling, early financial longevity planning, and preventive health for <50 cohorts. Why it matters: Gen Z/Millennials will reskill multiple times, balance caregiving, and need portfolios that fund healthspan + wealthspan across decades. Policy and business need to design for every generation, not just 50+. Customers above 50 focus on pension planning, succession planning, preserving health, inclusive technology and overall services catered for the older generation. At Wellthspan Advisory, I help organisations and individuals turn longevity from a cost centre into a growth strategy. ❓ Does “lifetime economy” help you think about longevity beyond 50+? #LongevityEconomy #LifetimeEconomy #SilverEconomy #WellthspanAdvisory

Aging Population: One of the Defining Megatrends of Our Time According to the United Nations, by 2050 one in six people globally will be over 65, compared to one in eleven in 2019. How aging will impact the economy As populations age, entire industries will need to adapt: from labor markets to healthcare systems, finance, housing, and consumer goods. 🧑💼 Labor markets & automation: Fewer working-age people mean labor shortages, rising wages, and higher demand for automation and AI-driven productivity tools. Countries may also rely more on immigration to fill skill gaps. ETFs with exposure to this theme: ROBO, BOTZ 🏥 Healthcare & biotech: An older population drives long-term growth in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, rehabilitation, and home-care services. Preventive healthcare, telemedicine, and longevity treatments are booming segments. ETFs with exposure to this theme: XLV, IXJ, IBB 💰 Finance & pensions: Retirees shift focus from wealth accumulation to income generation and capital preservation. Expect growing demand for retirement products, annuities, dividend-paying stocks, and low-volatility funds. Asset managers and insurers will compete for this growing pool of retirement capital. ETFs with exposure to this theme: VIG, SCHD, IAK 🏠 Real estate: Demand for senior housing, assisted living, and age-friendly infrastructure will rise. Developers and REITs focused on healthcare or retirement living stand to benefit. ETFs with exposure to this theme: WELL, XLRE 🛒 Consumer goods & services: Older consumers spend more on health, travel, and leisure, and less on fast fashion or gadgets. Companies that adapt in wellness, nutrition, healthcare tourism, and accessible design will capture this shift. ETF with exposure to this theme: PEJ 📊 Longevity snapshot: Some nations stand out for their exceptional longevity. Among the top 25 countries with the highest life expectancy (as the chart illustrates), 16 are in Europe. Monaco leads the list where residents live on average 86.5 years, and women exceed 88 years. ⚠️ The ETFs listed above are examples for educational purposes only and do not constitute individual investment recommendations. #Megatrends

By 2050, the number of adults over 65 will double to 1.6 billion – reshaping economies, societies, and the future of work. Our latest research – released through a collaboration between the McKinsey Health Institute and the FII Institute – reveals that investing in healthy longevity delivers powerful returns - between 2.3x and 6x for every dollar spent. Beyond the numbers, these investments strengthen health systems, extend workforce participation, and unlock new markets for innovation and inclusion. Looking at initiatives from around the world - from Japan’s Silver Human Resource Centers, which connect older adults with flexible community work, to Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench, which provides accessible, peer-led mental health support - global examples show that longevity-focused interventions can boost both wellbeing and prosperity. The message is clear: healthy longevity isn’t a cost. It’s a catalyst for sustainable growth. By aligning public, private, and social sector efforts, there is an opportunity to transform demographic change into shared opportunity for all generations. Explore the full report here: https://bit.ly/3WuAUw4 #HealthyLongevity #HealthyAging #Healthspan #FII9 #InvestInHealth

By 2050, the number of adults over 65 will double to 1.6 billion – reshaping economies, societies, and the future of work. Our latest research – released through a collaboration between the McKinsey Health Institute and the FII Institute – reveals that investing in healthy longevity delivers powerful returns; between 2.3x and 6x for every dollar spent. Beyond the numbers, these investments strengthen health systems, extend workforce participation, and unlock new markets for innovation and inclusion. Looking at initiatives from around the world - from Japan’s Silver Human Resource Centers, which connect older adults with flexible community work, to Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench, which provides accessible, peer-led mental health support - global examples show that longevity-focused interventions can boost both wellbeing and prosperity. The message is clear: healthy longevity isn’t a cost. It’s a catalyst for sustainable growth. By aligning public, private, and social sector efforts, there is an opportunity to transform demographic change into shared opportunity for all generations. Explore the full report here: https://lnkd.in/epDM-3Fx #HealthyLongevity #HealthyAging #Healthspan #FII9 #InvestInHealth 

By 2050, the number of adults over 65 will double to 1.6 billion – reshaping economies, societies, and the future of work. Our latest research – released through a collaboration between the McKinsey Health Institute and the FII Institute – reveals that investing in healthy longevity delivers powerful returns; between 2.3x and 6x for every dollar spent. Beyond the numbers, these investments strengthen health systems, extend workforce participation, and unlock new markets for innovation and inclusion. Looking at initiatives from around the world - from Japan’s Silver Human Resource Centers, which connect older adults with flexible community work, to Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench, which provides accessible, peer-led mental health support - global examples show that longevity-focused interventions can boost both wellbeing and prosperity. The message is clear: healthy longevity isn’t a cost. It’s a catalyst for sustainable growth. By aligning public, private, and social sector efforts, there is an opportunity to transform demographic change into shared opportunity for all generations. Explore the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eqTz3Hdw #HealthyLongevity #HealthyAging #Healthspan #FII9 #InvestInHealth 

By 2050, the number of adults over 65 will double to 1.6 billion – reshaping economies, societies, and the future of work. Our latest research – released through a collaboration between the McKinsey Health Institute and the FII Institute – reveals that investing in healthy longevity delivers powerful returns; between 2.3x and 6x for every dollar spent. Beyond the numbers, these investments strengthen health systems, extend workforce participation, and unlock new markets for innovation and inclusion. Looking at initiatives from around the world - from Japan’s Silver Human Resource Centers, which connect older adults with flexible community work, to Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench, which provides accessible, peer-led mental health support - global examples show that longevity-focused interventions can boost both wellbeing and prosperity. The message is clear: healthy longevity isn’t a cost. It’s a catalyst for sustainable growth. By aligning public, private, and social sector efforts, there is an opportunity to transform demographic change into shared opportunity for all generations. Explore the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dvysnavP #HealthyLongevity #HealthyAging #Healthspan #FII9 #InvestInHealth