Longevity as a Cross-Cutting Policy Imperative.

 

While life expectancy has increased substantially, improvements in healthspan, the years of life lived in good health, have not always kept pace. Extending healthspan, not just lifespan, is increasingly recognized as the defining objective of health policy in an ageing world. Social determinants account for 80 to 90 per cent of health outcomes5 , and evidence from communities around the world where people live measurably longer and healthier lives consistently points to the power of place, purpose and social connection. Advances in geroscience and artificial intelligence are creating new opportunities to extend life expectancy further, yet without equitable access and sustained investment in prevention, these gains risk widening existing disparities. Longer lives also have profound implications for economic security and social protection. Globally, 3.8 billion people remain without any social protection coverage, and more than 57.8 per cent of the world's workers are in informal employment. Women are disproportionately affected by longevity related financial risk due to lower lifetime earnings, caregiving interruptions and longer average life expectancy. Adapting labour markets, expanding lifelong learning opportunities and extending social protection coverage to informal workers are among the key policy responses needed to ensure that longer lives translate into sustained participation, security and dignity, grounded in the full enjoyment of human rights by all. At the same time, policy design should draw on the knowledge, lived experiences and diverse perspectives of older persons themselves, whose participation is essential to developing responses that reflect the diversity of ageing trajectories. In line with MIPAA, this means enabling older persons not only to take the lead in their own betterment, but also to participate actively in the betterment of society as a whole. The macroeconomic stakes are significant. In the absence of reform, average Government deficits could rise from 2.4 per cent of GDP in 2025 to around 9.1 per cent by 2060. Yet when longer lives are accompanied by sustained health, productivity and participation, a longevity dividend becomes possible and the policy challenge shifts from managing the costs of ageing to investing in the conditions under which longer lives generate shared gains for all generations. Realizing this potential requires moving beyond fragmented, sector-by-sector responses. Pension reforms too often proceed independently of health strategies; social protection systems were largely designed for shorter lives and formal employment; and preventive investments are rarely linked to fiscal objectives. Strengthening whole-of-government approaches involves clarifying mandates and ensuring longevity considerations are reflected across health, labour, fiscal and social protection systems, in line with the implementation of MIPAA. It also requires coordinated action beyond Government alone, engaging civil society, older persons and their representative organizations, the private sector, academia and researchers, each with a distinct role in translating policy into outcomes that ensure the age of longevity becomes an opportunity for all.