In this guest post, Anne-Marie Elias and Dr Abby Bloom co-founders of consultancy Prime Life Partners, outline how Australia can secure its economic future while addressing the well-being of its ageing population.
Longevity 2030 is a demographic, social and economic turning point. We are living longer than ever before. We are faced with a profound challenge and opportunity, globally.
In February 2024 Dr Abby Bloom and I released the whitepaper – Longevity 2030 – a Global Crisis and Opportunity, we did this because we believe that the next six years are crucial for establishing an Australian longevity economy and ecosystem to address the needs of our population as they live, age, care, and retire.
The World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, the global population aged 60 and over will double to 2.1 billion people, with those aged over 80 tripling to 426 million.
Similarly, in Australia, 20% of the population will be aged 65 or older by 2030. By 2050 this group will represent 25% of the population (Intergenerational Report 2020), challenging the adequacy of pension systems, healthcare, and the workforce. We are already at the beginning of a powerful and world changing demographic trend that will continue to 2050 and beyond.
The World Economic Forum’s Longevity Economy Principles, unveiled in January 2024, underscore the economic significance of a longevity economy. Australia is at a critical juncture: in 2030 we will have more people aged 65 and older than aged under 18 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Population Projections), a surge in retirement across generations, and a declining workforce have already begun.
Despite the alarm sounded by six Intergenerational Reports since 2002, Australia is unprepared to meet the fundamental needs of its ageing population.
A Framework for Longevity 2030
To address these challenges, we propose a Framework for Longevity 2030. It contains four key pillars: Financial Security, Housing, Care and Living, and Consumers.
The framework aims to create a unified approach to secure Australia’s economic future while enhancing the well-being of our citizens.
Pillar 1: Financial Security acknowledges the risks to Australia’s older population despite a world-leading superannuation system. Factors such as cost of living pressures, stagnant wage growth, and the casualisation of work necessitate a reevaluation of retirement pillars and the development of affordable retirement products.
Pillar 2: Housing addresses the critical shortage of affordable and suitable housing. Innovative solutions, including co-housing, intentional communities, and universal design principles within an affordable framework, is essential to prevent homelessness as a growing number of Australians face rising mortgage repayments and other cost of living-pressures.
Pillar 3: Care and Living emphasises the need for community-centric, technology-driven solutions. Dispelling the myth that the majority of older people age in residential aged care, this pillar advocates for wearables, the Internet of Things, and other innovations to redefine the care landscape, enabling more older individuals to age affordably and independently in their homes.
Pillar 4: Consumers recognise the increasing demand for care and support services, propelling the longevity market to an estimated $110 billion by 2026-27. The tech-savvy Boomers and Gen X expect
seamless, tech-integrated solutions tailored to their needs as they transition from work to
retirement and later life.
Opportunity for Transformation
Businesses, governments and industry have an opportunity, and imperative, to respond to the changing face of ageing and retirement. Longevity 2030 demands collective, informed, and innovative approaches and we need consumers, entrepreneurs, care providers, governments, businesses and industries to work towards improving products and services for a changing demographic.
