Older, Richer, Pissed Off — And Still Ignored
age/proof Digest: February 3, 2026
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.
Design for Hope Or Older Adults Will Opt Out
Surveys show older adults are increasingly pessimistic about the economy. Decades of financial shocks, rising healthcare costs, and stalled policy reforms have created a climate of low trust. This directly affects how people make choices about the future.
Why it matters: Optimism fuels planning and engagement. When people believe their future is insecure, they delay spending, avoid risk, and disengage from tools meant to support them. This limits both public and private innovation, especially in aging-focused sectors.
Real-world signal: Marketplace reports that older generations are more pessimistic than younger cohorts about economic recovery, citing inflation and concerns over retirement stability.
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, said, “When you’ve been through multiple crises, it’s harder to feel optimistic about the next 20 years.”
Yes, but: The emotional tone of this generation is rooted in experience, not speculation. Many have lived through inflation spikes, recessions, and shrinking social safety nets. Without real change, skepticism will continue to shape behavior and adoption patterns.
Hidden insight: Future-focused tools and services won’t land unless they also rebuild trust. Emotional design, not just functional design, will determine whether people re-engage or pull back.
Takeaway: Designing for longevity requires rebuilding belief in the future.
Source: Marketplace
Longevity Capital Is Reshaping What Health Means
High-net-worth investors are putting money into health technologies that aim to slow or reverse aging. The focus has shifted from lifespan to healthspan — the number of years people remain active and independent. This changes how we think about aging, healthcare, and consumer behavior.
Why it matters: If people expect to stay physically and mentally capable well into their 80s or 90s, their spending, work, and planning patterns will change. Healthcare becomes less about treating illness and more about extending capability. This redefines priorities across tech, housing, transportation, and financial services.
Real-world signal: Cambrian Bio and Altos Labs have raised billions to develop treatments that address cellular damage and age-related decline.
Entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who follows a strict health protocol based on biometric testing and regenerative therapies, said: “I treat myself as an engineering problem.”
Yes, but: Most of these treatments are inaccessible to the general public. They remain experimental, expensive, and unregulated. Widening access will require different business models, regulatory frameworks, and public trust.
Hidden insight: The future of aging won’t be defined by a small group of tech billionaires. It will depend on how infrastructure adapts to support everyday people seeking longer periods of functionality and autonomy.
Takeaway: As long lives become normal, the organizations surrounding health need to shift from reactive care to proactive maintenance.
Source: Los Angeles Magazine
No One’s Ready For Aging Wealth and Shifting Power
Older adults now control a large share of household wealth, but that doesn’t mean they’re financially secure. Healthcare costs, longer life expectancy, and volatile housing markets are straining expectations about retirement and inheritance.
Why it matters: Economic power is aging, but the systems that manage that power haven’t adjusted. Many Gen Xers are entering their peak earning years with high debt and limited savings. At the same time, Boomers are spending down assets faster than anticipated, often to support both older and younger family members.
Real-world signal: In Australia, people over 55 hold 60% of household wealth. In the U.S., Baby Boomers control more than half of total net worth.
Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci told Yahoo Finance, “The notion of stopping work at a certain age is crumbling.”
Yes, but: Wealth distribution within generations is uneven. Those with home equity or pensions are in a different position from those without. Inheritances are increasingly delayed or reduced, often due to medical and long-term care expenses.
Hidden insight: Retirement products often assume linear life paths. They don’t reflect the real complexity of midlife and later-life financial roles, which may include caregiving, part-time work, and housing transitions.
Takeaway: Longer lives create new economic phases and everything that supports them need to catch up.
Sources: SMH, Yahoo Finance
Wellness Wasn’t Built for a 70-Year-Old Body
Most wellness marketing still centers on youth, yet the fastest-growing consumer group in this space is over 50. Their needs differ from younger ones, with a focus on sleep, mobility, and energy — not aesthetics or performance.
Why it matters: As people live longer, health goals shift. Managing digestion, chronic pain, and sleep quality becomes more important than chasing six-pack abs or following intensive fitness trends. These individuals are ready to invest in these areas for themselves, but the market has not kept pace.
Real-world signal: Circana reports that older adults are increasingly focused on functional wellness rather than appearance. Sleep aids, mobility supplements, and inflammation support are growing categories.
Kristin Hornberger, Circana’s VP of wellness, said, “Consumers’ wellness goals evolve by life stage... brands need to reflect those shifts.”
Yes, but: Many products remain positioned toward younger audiences, both in language and design. This can alienate older consumers or make them feel invisible in spaces they actively fund.
Hidden insight: Meeting wellness needs later in life isn’t just about product formulation. It requires a shift in communication, trust-building, and representation — across everything from packaging to community engagement.
Takeaway: Older consumers aren’t stepping away from wellness. They’re looking for products that meet them where they are.
Sources: Circana, Tasting Table
The Emotional Cost of Long Life Is Rising
Mental health in midlife and later life is receiving more attention and for good reason. Psychological distress among Gen X and Baby Boomers has grown over the past two decades, driven by economic pressure, caregiving demands, and social isolation.
Why it matters: Emotional well-being is deeply tied to quality of life in later years. If people experience rising distress during what could be decades of additional life, other longevity gains lose their meaning. Yet, most primary care and tech platforms are not built to recognize or treat these forms of long-term, low-visibility strain.
Real-world signal: A 2024 study found that both Gen X and Boomers have experienced increased psychological distress since 2001.
Psychiatrist Nick Glozier, commenting on the findings, said the data reflect “a long-tail effect of midlife stressors and a lack of structural support.”
Yes, but: Mental health services often exclude or overlook older individuals. Many interventions are designed with younger adults in mind, while cultural stigma still deters some older adults from seeking care at all.
Hidden insight: The emotional landscape of aging is changing. Addressing it requires more than crisis services. It calls for approaches that reduce isolation, support identity shifts, and promote emotional resilience over time.
Takeaway: The quality of a long life depends not just on how long we live, but how supported we feel while living it.
Sources: The Conversation, NBC News
Older Talent Is a Design Problem, Not a Retirement One
A large cohort of older adults want to keep working. Not because they have to, but because they can and want to. Yet employers often lack programs that support career transitions, flexible roles, or knowledge retention beyond traditional retirement.
Why it matters: Older adults bring experience, adaptability, and institutional memory. As they live longer, many are rethinking retirement, often preferring phased transitions, part-time work, or consulting. Businesses that ignore this shift risk losing valuable talent and weakening team diversity.
Real-world signal: Iowa employers are planning for workforce exits as Baby Boomers retire, but most have no formal strategies to retain or replace that experience.
A 50-year study from York University reported that older workers are motivated to stay engaged — especially in roles where their experience is recognized and their time is respected.
Yes, but: Ageism persists. Older applicants often face assumptions about their tech skills, flexibility, or ability to collaborate. These stereotypes limit innovation and prevent organizations from building teams that reflect the age diversity of their customer base.
Hidden insight: Retention is only one part of the equation. Forward-thinking organizations are also designing mentorship pathways, second-act roles, and cross-generational teams that benefit from overlapping strengths.
Takeaway: Workforce design that includes older talent is a competitive advantage, not a social obligation.
Sources: Corridor Business, The Star
Until next time,
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This seems true. A lot of skepticism isn’t resistance. It’s lived experience.
Bryan, I appreciated the title of this one and all of these insights as always with the ones about "designing for hope" and "wellness not being designed for a 70-year-old body resonating the most.
I think most people 50+ want to have new experiences and things to look forward to, so consumerism that supports that and doesn't assume slowing down or that later years are decline-focused is important.
And I'm seeing in my own coaching clients and myself that while we certainly would like to look good in our clothes, it's more about feeling good in your own skin. Weight loss and fitness is for making sure you can do everything you hope to as you age vs. vanity. Current portrayals of those age 50+ so often assume all we want to do is golf, yoga, pickleball and chair exercise. So many of us are more rugged than that. In fact, the fitness professional guidelines for older adult fitness are not to do something sitting when standing is possible.
Maybe soon we'll see more images of 50+ people hiking and running (like I and many I know do) rather than holding 2-lb. weights in chairs. Nothing wrong with that if that's a fit for your capability but it shouldn't be the default assumption.