Is Gen X Crucial to the Future of Aging?
age/proof Digest: October 21, 2025
The only weekly digest for forward-thinking people curious about the cultural and demographic shift reshaping the future of aging.
Written by a 40-something living inside the world’s largest retirement community. Here’s my round up of actionable insights this week to help us rethink what older age can be.
Gen X Is Rewriting the Grandparent Script
Gen Xers are entering grandparenthood without exiting the rest of life. Many are still parenting teenagers, caregiving for their own parents, and running businesses or side gigs. Unlike past generations, they’re aging into complexity, not retreat.
Why it matters: Gen X is bringing new energy and new expectations to later life. Their approach challenges the idea that older adulthood is defined by decline or withdrawal. They want relevance, mobility, and meaning — but they’re not waiting for permission.
Real-world signal: Gen X grandparents are staying in the workforce, traveling, and helping raise grandkids while managing their own aging parents.
One grandparent quoted by Gulf Today reflected, “We’re not our parents’ version of retirement. We’re still raising, earning, building — just with more complexity.”
Yes, but: This cohort is overwhelmed. With few safety nets and limited policy support, many feel squeezed emotionally and financially. Their needs often fall through the cracks of programs designed for simpler family structures.
Hidden insight: Gen X has lived across the analog and digital divide, and they’re uniquely positioned to bridge aging paradigms. They could be powerful advocates and designers of more flexible, inclusive longevity narratives.
Takeaway: Gen X isn’t stepping back. They’re stepping into the role of culture shaper for the future of aging.
Source: Gulf Today
The Sandwich Stage Is Now a Life Phase
Caregiving is no longer a side job. It’s a central part of midlife. Millions are navigating the demands of supporting both aging parents and growing kids while trying to maintain careers, relationships, and personal health. This isn’t temporary. It’s a defining life phase for many.
Why it matters: We’ve designed systems for people who live one role at a time. But the reality is much more layered. People in the sandwich stage are doing complex, unpaid work that shapes the health and well-being of multiple generations.
Real-world signal: In Cleveland, families are combining digital calendars, meal trains, and eldercare consultants just to keep up with daily life.
A local therapist explained to Cleveland.com, “Many caregivers feel invisible — praised but unsupported, active but overwhelmed.”
Yes, but: Very few tools, services, or policies are built with this group in mind. Most “support” still assumes either a stay-at-home parent or a retired elder. Not someone juggling all roles at once.
Hidden insight: The people navigating the sandwich stage are quietly solving for the future. They’re improvising systems that could inform better design, if institutions are willing to listen.
Takeaway: The sandwich generation isn’t stuck between life stages. They’re the designers of what’s next.
Source: Cleveland.com
Food Is Function Now
The old stereotype of “senior diets” is crumbling. Older adults are driving demand for food that supports mobility, cognition, and energy. Not just basic nutrition. Food is becoming a key tool for aging on your own terms.
Why it matters: This shift reframes aging as active, intentional, and empowered. Food isn’t just about restriction or disease prevention. It’s about performance and pleasure. Brands that meet this moment will unlock powerful, multi-generational loyalty.
Real-world signal: A 2026 food trend forecast shows high growth in protein-forward, functional foods. This includes collagen snacks and mood-regulating beverages.
A brand analyst told Provisioner Online, “The 50+ demographic is the most intentional grocery buyer we’ve ever studied. They’re treating food as medicine, fuel, and experience.”
Yes, but: Access and affordability remain major barriers. Functional foods often cater to higher-income consumers, while many older adults still struggle with food insecurity or limited grocery options.
Hidden insight: This isn’t about anti-aging. It’s about choosing tools to stay strong, connected, and in control. Food becomes a form of self-determination and a way to resist decline narratives.
Takeaway: If your food isn’t working for your future, it might be time to rethink the menu.
Source: Provisioner Online
The Longevity Readiness Gap Just Got Real
Longer lives are here, but our society hasn’t kept pace. Most adults remain unprepared for aging. Not just financially, but across housing, health, and caregiving dimensions. New research confirms that what was once considered a “gap” is becoming a structural failing. The longer we delay redesigning expectations and infrastructure, the more unlivable this next chapter may become.
Why it matters: Most people still treat retirement like a one-time event, instead of a long-term phase that touches nearly every part of life. Longevity isn’t only about how long we live. It’s about how well. Without updated frameworks, we risk living longer in systems built for shorter lives.
Real-world signal: The 2025 Longevity Preparedness Index from the MIT AgeLab and John Hancock shows 67% of U.S. adults are unprepared across financial, housing, and health categories.
Joseph Coughlin, founder of the MIT AgeLab, said the solution lies in “a retirement curriculum that includes caregiving, housing, relationships, and resilience — not just finance.”
Yes, but: The public conversation still defaults to savings and investment, overlooking social connection, psychological preparedness, and living environments. That narrow lens sets people up to age alone and under-resourced.
Hidden insight: The word “retirement” doesn’t match reality anymore. People are phasing, not stopping. What’s needed now is a shared language and roadmap for navigating this extended life stage.
Takeaway: Aging well starts with planning for the life you want, not just the money you’ll need.
Source: Forbes, McKnight’s
Healthcare Systems Are Poised for a Longevity Shift
Hospitals and clinics touch nearly every person’s life. But when it comes to aging, they’re often stuck in reactive mode. The real opportunity? Turning health systems into proactive community anchors for long life.
Why it matters: Aging well isn’t just about clinical care. It’s about walkable neighborhoods, fall prevention, community programs, and coordinated systems. Health institutions have the resources and reach. They just need a new mission.
Real-world signal: As shared at the Milken Institute’s 2025 panel, some health systems are investing in age-friendly environments and care models that focus on prevention, not just treatment.
Cheryl Pegus, managing director at Morgan Health, explained, “Health systems must start thinking beyond the hospital walls. Longevity is about daily life, not just procedures.”
Yes, but: Most of these innovations are happening in large, well-funded systems. Rural areas and underserved communities still lack access to even basic care, let alone long-life infrastructure. Without equity, the longevity dividend stays gated.
Hidden insight: Hospitals could become engines of local vitality. Not just endpoints for illness. Imagine clinics as co-design partners with housing developers, transit planners, and caregivers.
Takeaway: Healthcare’s future lies in designing for life, not just fixing what’s broken.
Source: Milken Institute
Until next time,
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As a Gen Xer I relate to and appreciate everything you shared here. Great research, too!
Thank you for the spot on insight. Five years ago in the summer o f 2020 — I experienced a new form of cyber bullying—at least I had yet to experience what remains prevalent today, a group of individuals masquerading themselves for undisclosed purposes. In 2020 that group called themselves the ‘proud boys’ — and their addenda the world saw erupt on Jan. 6—since then I have scaled shear faced learning curves,spent 1000’s of my own limited income in an attempt understand the components of technology to find a way to offer something better—an this pursuit I have not ceased. In return what I’ve received is a tour of innards of life as a homeless individual living in a Los Angeles shelter. — As many here, I have very much have been victimized by mind boggling social injustices. A few years shy of my 60th I have not lost my determination, yet I am, perhaps for the first time painfully aware of a finality, NOT so much of my own being, but of my efforts to effect change. Thanks for listening.
Mark Ezra Merrill
Los Angeles 2025