We stand poised at the edge of history, experiencing a longevity revolution unlike anything the world has ever encountered. And this "age wave" is impacting us in some unexpected ways. One disturbing example is that Standard & Poor's just downgraded America's credit rating, causing an unimaginable loss of money, security...

The financial "reckoning" we have just gone through has caused many of us to seriously rethink our current lives and future retirements. While many Americans got pretty shaken up over this past decade, most of us are emerging wiser, more disciplined and with a more pragmatic approach to a new...

Exactly 10 years ago in 2001, Age Wave, in partnership with SunAmerica Financial Group and Harris Interactive, conducted the landmark "Re-Visioning Retirement" study, for which we interviewed 1,000 men and women age 55 and older to learn how they felt about retirement. This groundbreaking investigation was the first to look...

On Sunday, Feb. 6th, our nation will pause to celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan. I'm certain that philosophers and pundits from every political persuasion will weigh-in on President Reagan's political legacy -- and on his strengths and weaknesses as America's 40th Commander-in-Chief.

However, I...

This month is Long Term Care Awareness Month. Taking a moment to think about your - and your family's - possible future long term care needs is critical for us all since average life expectancy is now at 78 and rising. And, if you're already 55 or more, life expectancy...

The current financial "reckoning" is causing large numbers of pre-retirees to seriously rethink their current and future lives. While these distressing times have caused many retirement dreams to shrink or even disappear altogether, they're also providing a much-needed social/financial/spiritual wake-up call.

There's an existential battle going on to create a...

We stand poised at the edge of history. We are about to confront a demographic shift of enormous magnitude: increasing longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of the baby boom are triggering an enormous "age wave." This wave has the potential to create vibrant new stages of life with positive...

As we head toward Valentine's Day, love is on many people's minds. Many young people fear they will be trapped in a marriage that becomes stale, predictable, or boring. I'm humbled to say that my parents -- Pearl and Seymour Dychtwald -- have been married 67 years and are living...

This month is National Long Term Care Awareness Month. Based on thirty-five years working in the field of aging, I have reached some personal conclusions about long term care and its funding. Here goes.

Learning from my mom and dad's experience.
I grew up in the 1950s and...

While most of the current healthcare debate has focused on how to cover the tens of millions of uninsured Americans and who should pay (granted, these are critically important issues), after thirty-five years working at the intersection of gerontology and healthcare, I'm convinced that we have the WRONG healthcare system...

There is an avalanche of new research in the areas of success and happiness. Perhaps the leading light in this field is Dr. Martin Seligman, a University of Pennsylvania research psychologist, who has boiled down true happiness to three components: pleasure (things that feel good), involvement (being immersed in things...

Everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Who gets a cut? Who does the serving?

I think the days of "he who dies with the most toys, wins" are over. Perhaps we were all hoping for more -- a little more money left over after the bills...

The current economic reckoning has created vast financial losses and uncertainty during the last year, triggering all generations to reassess the funding, timing and purpose of retirement. To learn precisely how this past year has altered Americans' retirement hopes, worries, and plans, my company, Age Wave, the nation's thought-leader...

When the dust from today's economic crisis settles, young men and women unfortunately will be even more broke than they were a year ago, while their parents and grandparents - although financially damaged, will nevertheless control an even greater share of the spending power.

Let's face it. The consumer marketplace...

In the drought and heat of Berkeley, California, in the summer of 1991, slow-moving fires ravaged the hillsides. Berkeley is a college town filled with lots of interesting characters with charming homes. As flames swept through the area, thousands of residents were given about three hours to pack up...

Where's the gravitas? Where are the leaders? I know there's talk that people want to be forever young, but I'd like to make a counter-argument. If there was ever a time that the world needed some grownups (or at least some grownup behavior), it's now. While there's a lot that's...

How to pick up after a layoff, a career roadblock, or retirement interrupted

The greed-based economy has failed. Now that we are all looking at life through a different lens -- some of us are out of jobs, some of us have delayed retirement for another decade...