Manulife aims to help improve people’s physical, mental and emotional health, while increasing financial confidence across their lifespan.
Multinational insurance firm Manulife has launched a new Longevity Institute backed by a commitment of $350 million through 2030. The initiative is designed to accelerate progress on lifelong health and financial resilience as demographic pressures reshape expectations for how people live, work and age.
Headquartered in Canada, Manulife, which operates as John Hancock in the United States, says the new institute aims to close the widening gap between lifespan and healthspan, a divide that leaves many spending a significant portion of their later years in poor health and nearly two in five facing financial insecurity. Positioned as a global platform for research, advocacy and community investment, the platform will seek to convene academic partners, think tanks and industry peers to advance innovation that supports longer, healthier lives and more durable financial wellbeing.
“Empowering health, wealth, and longevity is central to Manulife’s bold new ambition,” said Manulife CEO Phil Witherington. “It aligns with our values and our commitment to the communities we operate in, and we are uniquely placed to help individuals and families navigate the growing gap between lifespan and healthspan.”
The institute’s objectives reflect two central outcomes: helping people maintain better physical, mental and emotional health across their lifespan, and supporting greater financial confidence through tools, education and planning resources. Manulife views improvements in everyday health behaviors, early detection, nutrition and movement as critical components of longer healthspans, while positioning financial resilience as essential for managing the uncertainties of longer lives.
Initial actions reflect a mix of research collaborations and public convenings intended to broaden understanding of aging and identify practical solutions. A long-running partnership with the National Institute on Aging continues, as does Manulife’s work with the Milken Institute, which builds on joint efforts to examine the structural issues shaping future health and longevity, including food system resilience and the conditions needed to help people remain in their homes and communities as they age.
Manulife is also scaling up its series of Longevity Symposiums, with new events in Singapore and the Philippines bringing together healthcare leaders, financial professionals and community stakeholders to discuss practical approaches to enhancing both length and quality of life. These efforts follow the introduction of John Hancock’s Longevity Preparedness Index, recently developed in collaboration with MIT’s AgeLab, which offers a framework for assessing how well adults are positioned to navigate longer lives.
Earlier this year, Manulife introduced a new initiative with the World Economic Forum aimed at addressing aging trends across Asia. The Innovating for Asia’s Demographic Future challenge invites startups to propose solutions that enhance financial resilience across multiple life stages, support equitable healthy aging and promote lifelong fulfillment. The effort responds to projections that by 2050 one in four people in Asia will be over age 60, creating a need for new approaches to retirement planning, healthcare sustainability and community support.
