Decades ago, the classic French entertainer Maurice Chevalier quipped that getting older "isn't so bad when you consider the alternative." It's clever, and at one time it made pretty good sense. But the times, as they say, are a-changing. Four years into the so-called "baby boomer bulge" -- when the world's largest population segment passes into traditional retirement age -- getting older is no longer a fate just better than death. It's not a time of health, activity and contribution.
In 2014, all indicators suggest that "seniors" are no longer destined for lives of disability and dependency. Now, even if we are supposed to be retired according to antiquated and arbitrary policies, we continue to contribute at the highest levels of business, culture, government, philanthropy and elsewhere. And these new roles are making old ideas of aging -- like that captured in Chevalier's quip -- increasingly obsolete.
- The "senior market" will continue to explode. Numerous sectors are realizing the commercial opportunities brought by longer lives and the "boomer bulge." The fashion industry gets it; the travel industry is on board; and leaders in consumer goods have certainly recognized that it's worth prioritizing and competing for the over-60 segment, which will reach one billion in a few short years. In Asia, investment specialists recognize aging as a global phenomenon of equal importance as urbanization and the digital revolution. Now, given this market expansion, we can expect to see winning companies start to think differently about talent. Keeping people working into their sixties, seventies and even eighties will be understood as competitive advantage. The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Aging is creating a set of principles to guide business to operate differently, and 2014 will see the roll-out of "silver economies" across the globe from Europe and Japan to South Korea and in America.
So let's in 2014, the "miracle of longevity" is upon us, and the opportunities are endless. It's time to craft the right policies to capture the social and economic benefits of an aging population.