New data from John Hancock and MIT AgeLab warns most adults aren’t prepared for longer lives across care, housing, health and finances.
People around the world are living longer than ever thanks to advances in medicine, public health and technology. However, a new report suggests that while lifespans are increasing, our preparedness for old age is not keeping pace… and the consequences are already showing.
Fresh data from John Hancock and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab reveal that the number of adults entering older age is rapidly rising. Globally, people are reaching their 60s and 70s in increasing numbers, and those over 85 are among the fastest-growing age groups in many countries.
But the study shows something worrying: most adults are not ready for the realities of longer lives.
To measure this, MIT AgeLab and John Hancock created the Longevity Preparedness Index (LPI). Scored from 0 to 100, adults landed at a modest 60 – a signal that many are missing essential pieces of long-term planning, from care and housing to financial and health readiness.
And the challenge, the report notes, goes far beyond money.
“It’s frankly no longer just about how much you’ve saved for retirement or even about how healthy you are; it’s also about where you’ll live, how you’ll get where you need to go, how you’ll fill your days, and who you will share your time with,” said Brooks Tingle, CEO of John Hancock.
Tingle emphasized that the results of the Index tell us that “while some people are preparing for longer lives, there is much more our industry can and should be doing to help customers.”
The realities of aging most people overlook
The study highlights several major blind spots:
- Few adults have identified who will care for them as they age. An estimated 70% of older adults will need long-term care at some point, but most people have no plan for how that support will be provided or funded.
- Many homes aren’t built for aging. Even though 88% of adults over 50 say they want to “age in place,” most homes aren’t designed with older age in mind: stairs without railings, narrow hallways, inaccessible bathrooms, or poor lighting.
- Daily routines matter more than people expect. From transportation to social connection, the small, everyday structures of life can make or break someone’s well-being in later years.
“The LPI is more than a measurement; it is a research-based framework that seeks to redefine how we think about preparing for later life,” said Dr Joe Coughlin, founder and director of the MIT AgeLab. “While health and wealth security are key, between those two vital bookends are the routines and assumptions that make up daily life.”
He emphasises that raising awareness is critical: people may spend one-third of their adult lives in older age, but many are still planning as if aging were a brief chapter.
Aging well requires more than savings
Planning for later life has long centered on financial readiness, but the Longevity Preparedness Index expands the lens. It measures readiness across eight areas: social connection, finance, daily activities, care, home, community, health and life transitions.
There is some good news. Social connection – friendships, community involvement, family ties – is one of the strongest areas for many adults. And globally, more older adults are choosing to continue working, not just for income but for meaning, identity and structure.
Still, the gaps are significant. Coughlin notes that small, intentional lifestyle changes can have an outsized impact.
“Starting a new hobby, starting a fitness routine or having a conversation about care,” he says, can dramatically improve the experience of aging. These are simple steps, but collectively, they help shape longer, healthier lives.
A collaboration years in the making
It can be recalled that in 2024, John Hancock and the MIT AgeLab launched a major, multi-year longevity collaboration. Backed by Manulife, the partnership set out to study the intersection of health, wealth and aging – work that would eventually lead to the creation of the Longevity Preparedness Index.
The World Economic Forum projected that the global population over 60 would double by 2050 [1], creating what experts described as a “preparedness vacuum”: longer lifespans, rising healthcare needs and financial systems struggling to keep pace.
LPI arrives at a moment when longevity science is accelerating, governments are reconsidering aging policies, and industries, from insurance to healthcare, are rethinking what long life means for society. John Hancock’s expanded collaboration with MIT AgeLab reflects the growing global urgency to understand and support aging populations.
The Longevity Preparedness Index offers a new benchmark, not just for policymakers and organizations, but for individuals making everyday decisions about their future.
Longevity, the report reminds us, isn’t just about adding years. It’s about ensuring those years are livable, supported and meaningful. And right now, most of us aren’t nearly ready enough.
[1] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/02/longevity-economy-principles-ageing-population/
