No One Plans for a 100-Year Life
age/proof Digest: December 16, 2025
Welcome to this week’s age/proof Digest.
We’ve hit an exciting milestone — over 1,000 subscribers in just a few short months since I began publishing in August! I’m so grateful you’re here with all of us on this journey to rethink what older age looks like.
Now, on to this week’s actionable insights…
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.
A Long-Life Society Fails at the Start
Designing for longer lives means thinking beyond retirement. One uniquely overlooked group (surprisingly not those over age 50) reveals what happens when life planning ends before it begins. I’m talking about young people aging out of foster care.
Why it matters: In Canada and the U.S., youth who exit the foster system at age 18 face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, and poor health outcomes. Many receive little or no support during this transition. Without stable housing, guidance, or income, early adulthood can spiral into long-term instability.
Real-world signal: A Canadian Senate report found that nearly half of young people aging out of care experience homelessness within six months. Advocates have called for extending care through age 25 and building stronger transitional programs.
The Senate report stated that the current system “forces young people into adulthood with no net.”
Yes, but: Services for housing, education, employment, and healthcare often operate separately. Without coordination, young people must navigate each system on their own — often with limited information or support.
Hidden insight: If we’re headed towards a society where more people live into their 80s and 90s, the first years of adult life matter. Resilience later depends on how stable the early years are in one’s life.
Takeaway: Long life planning really should start at 18, not 65.
Source: Senate Canada
The Future of Aging Needs New Foundations
As mentioned in earlier editions of this digest, many housing options for older adults are still based on outdated assumptions. Primarily that aging is a period of decline requiring separation and care. This has created a market mismatch.
Why it matters: Most older adults want to remain in their communities. However, many housing models isolate residents and emphasize healthcare over autonomy or connection. This approach no longer aligns with how people expect to live as they age.
Real-world signal: Longevity.Technology calls for a “longevity-driven rethink” of senior housing, pointing out that the care-first design of many residences doesn’t match what today’s older adults value.
Debra Whitman of AARP said older adults “want to age in communities, not in institutions.”
Yes, but: Housing reform involves zoning laws, infrastructure financing, and policy changes. All of these are slow-moving forces. Middle-income adults often fall through the cracks, unable to afford luxury communities yet ineligible for subsidized care.
Hidden insight: The physical environments we build shape what kind of aging is possible. Community-focused, multigenerational housing can benefit residents at every stage of life, not just older adults.
Takeaway: Designing housing for older adults is a blueprint for better cities.
Source: Longevity.Technology
What Social Security Won’t Save Us From
Social Security is undergoing structural changes, but the bigger issue is that it was designed for shorter lives and more linear careers.
Why it matters: The full retirement age is rising for younger generations, and benefits may not stretch as far. Meanwhile, people are living longer and working through more career phases. Retirement as a single life stage no longer fits the way many people live.
Real-world signal: Changes scheduled for 2026 will delay full retirement benefits for many workers. The goal is to reduce long-term strain on the system.
Rep. John Larson said, “Waiting for collapse is no longer acceptable.”
Yes, but: The people most affected are those with the fewest financial resources. Wealthier households can adapt through private savings, but many others rely on Social Security as a primary income source.
Hidden insight: Retirement planning now means designing a multi-phase life. Not just saving for a date, but preparing for evolving needs, skills, and identities.
Takeaway: Longevity isn’t just stretching time. It’s changing the shape of how we live and earn.
Source: Black Enterprise
The Reboot Generation: Why Gen X Isn’t Powering Down
Gen X is reaching so-called retirement age, but few are planning to stop working. Many are making deliberate choices to pivot, not pause.
Why it matters: This group holds rising wealth and is increasingly shaping expectations around late-life work and lifestyle. Their approach blends flexibility, purpose, and autonomy. They aren’t opting out. They’re editing the playbook.
Real-world signal: Next Avenue reports that many Gen Xers plan to work into their 70s. For many, this decision is driven by purpose as much as finances.
Financial advisor Pam Krueger said, “Gen X wants independence, not dependency.”
Yes, but: Economic setbacks, including two major recessions, have left gaps in retirement savings. Many Gen X households are still catching up, especially those without pensions or consistent employer benefits.
Hidden insight: Gen X is redefining what success looks like later in life. Their actions will influence how future policies, products, and communities support longer, more active lives.
Takeaway: Later life is being redesigned by the people living it now.
Sources: Next Avenue, Financial Post
The Most Powerful Demographic No One’s Focusing On
Boomer women are expected to control most U.S. wealth in the years ahead. Their decisions will shape how money flows across families, generations, and causes.
Why it matters: Many women will outlive spouses and inherit wealth from parents or partners. That shift is already underway, but most financial services and product experiences still fail to center their preferences or goals.
Real-world signal: RBC Wealth Management estimates that about 70% of wealth transfers will go to women. Many will manage that wealth solo for 10 years or more.
Wealth psychologist Kathleen Burns Kingsbury said, “Women don’t want to just preserve wealth — they want to use it intentionally.”
Yes, but: Financial services often default to outdated assumptions about women’s roles or expertise. Many report feeling dismissed or underserved, especially around investing and legacy planning.
Hidden insight: These women are not a niche audience. They are key decision-makers in the longevity economy — and they’re making choices now that will influence markets for decades.
Takeaway: Older women aren’t just beneficiaries of the wealth shift. They’re the architects.
Source: Yahoo Finance
The Age Gap in Change Culture
Organizational change often happens without including the people most impacted: older workers. While companies push innovation, many of their most experienced employees are left out of the process.
Why it matters: Older employees bring institutional memory, long-view thinking, and problem-solving skills. But research shows they are more likely to report stress, skepticism, or exclusion during change efforts.
Real-world signal: A study by Eagle Hill Consulting found that older workers experience more fatigue and confusion during major organizational shifts.
CEO Melissa Jezior said, “Change is constant, but support isn’t. That’s the gap.”
Yes, but: It’s often not resistance to change that’s the issue. It’s poor communication, vague goals, or being excluded from planning. Without clear strategy and shared ownership, change feels like churn.
Hidden insight: Longer work lives mean companies will need to build age-diverse teams that work well together. Supporting that collaboration during change isn’t optional — it’s essential to performance and retention.
Takeaway: If you want to lead change well, include every generation at the table.
Source: AI Journ
When Founders Choose Legacy Over Profit
Some founders are choosing to give their companies away. Not to family or shareholders, but to causes they care about. This shift is intentional and strategic.
Why it matters: These decisions reflect a growing movement among entrepreneurs who want their businesses to have a long-term purpose beyond revenue. In a sector like longevity, where trust matters, these models may offer greater resilience and credibility.
Real-world signal: Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard transferred company ownership to a nonprofit trust to fund climate initiatives indefinitely. Newman’s Own gives 100% of profits to children’s charities, a structure originally designed by Paul Newman and now reaffirmed by CEO Miriam Nelson.
Nelson told Fortune, “We’re not here to sell salad dressing. We’re here to make the world better.”
Yes, but: These ownership models still require disciplined operations and succession planning. Without that, values-based structures risk becoming symbolic rather than sustainable.
Hidden insight: Legacy is a design choice. Founders shaping businesses for long-term social good are building something that extends beyond any single product or generation.
Takeaway: Ownership is strategy and for some, giving it away is the most powerful move.
Source: Fortune
Until next time,
Rethink Aging With Us
This is for you and you’re in the right place:
If you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond and not ready to fade out.
If you’re a builder, strategist, or decision-maker trying to understand what aging really means for your product, team, city, or community.
If you’re tired of “decline narratives” about age and are ready for something more honest, more useful, and more human.
Join other curious and forward-thinking people who are reconsidering what older age can be — and how to live it with intention.
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great minds… maybe you saw my recent post about the 100-year life : https://open.substack.com/pub/debbieweil/p/why-im-pushing-back-on-living-to?r=1go6c&utm_medium=ios
Bryan, this is fascinating. One quibble, the “decline narrative” has been “out” for a number of years, if not several decades. What’s “in,” and recognizable as a trend, is “reinvention instead of retirement.” For those of us in our 60s and 70s, the challenge is redefining HOW to live—if that includes paid work, then it probably means project work, freelancing, or consulting. Thanks also for highlighting the special role of older women in all this.