Navigating the Longevity Economy: Financial Resilience for an Ageing World
How employers, policymakers, and society must adapt to meet the needs of individuals throughout their longer lives
Over the past five years, Mercer (Marsh McLennan) has worked with The World Economic Forum’s Longevity Economy Initiative to convene leaders across business, government and civil society. The goal of this initiative is to bring alignment across sectors to address the demographic and financial challenges of global ageing and to support individuals to be resilient in their longer lives.
Increasing lifespans require changes to ensure that we have corresponding increases in time spent in good health and wealth. This means employers will need to create an inclusive environment for all generations, with education and reskilling opportunities available for all workers in the multigenerational workforce, not only for young and new employees. Finding purpose is essential to remaining happy and healthy in a longer life, and a continued focus on equality is vital.
As part of this initiative with the World Economic Forum, Mercer drove the development of longevity economy principles, in collaboration with over 35 leading organisations. These principles are designed to create a common language and framework to bring together the many core factors that employers, policymakers, and society need to consider to help people age well.
Published in 2024, Longevity Economy Principles: The Foundation for a Financially Resilient Future, offers a strategic approach to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing global population. It advocates for a holistic approach that balances health, financial stability and social considerations, and underscores the importance of collaborative, multistakeholder engagement focused on individual needs.
Building on the Longevity Economy Principles, Future-Proofing the Longevity Economy: Innovations and Key Trends reveals how innovation is reshaping economic resilience in ageing societies. This report identifies five areas essential for individual financial resilience and economic sustainability, with case studies from the public and private sector that showcase innovative approaches to address a demographic transformation and enable people of all generations to thrive.
People living longer is a sign of progress in our society, but it comes with challenges in areas like health care and access, retirement and workforce. By investing in innovative financial models and employee benefits as well as supporting life-long skill building, we can help shape a future in which people can thrive at any age and businesses and economies remain resilient to changing demographics.
President and CEO, Mercer
