How To Make The Most Of Longer Lives

How To Make The Most Of Longer Lives
RUESSELSHEIM, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 03: Elderly people rest in a public swimming pool on September 3, 2005 in Ruesselsheim, Germany. Germany's economy and pension system is being burdened by an expanding elderly population, and German politians are offering various solutions ahead of the elections on September 18. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)
RUESSELSHEIM, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 03: Elderly people rest in a public swimming pool on September 3, 2005 in Ruesselsheim, Germany. Germany's economy and pension system is being burdened by an expanding elderly population, and German politians are offering various solutions ahead of the elections on September 18. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

The first person to live to 150 is alive today.

For many months I drove home past a financial-services billboard advertising this dramatic claim, followed by the punch line: “Let’s get ready for a longer retirement.”

The focus of that message, of course, is money—the size of our nest eggs. But the words highlight a far bigger challenge. In the early decades of the 21st century, we are pushing, rapidly, to extend our lives. But we’re paying scant attention to how we should make the most of that additional time.

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