Indulge and Die, Explore and Grow, Thrive or Survive?

First world problem : What can we do with all these extra years and extra dollars?

It’s no news many of us are living longer and healthier lives but there’s plenty of scope, and no little uncertainty, around how best able to spend this so-called longevity premium.

Every generation, say 25 years, the average life expectancy of those in the western, and other parts of the world, climbs by three years.

Not a bad return on the investment for just being born in the right place and right time.

I heard a Stanford University professor on the radio recently describe this beneficial phenomenon as ‘living younger longer.’

It’s a noble aim which we can all share and celebrate.

But how best to manage the costs and benefits of this demographic shift is occupying everyone from policy-makers, medics and economists to the individuals concerned…perhaps even you.

In aggregate the age cohort which the Fifty Up Club seeks to service ie 50 years and over, has never been healthier, wealthier or better educated.

By definition this is not the case for everyone, due to inequality, ill-health, bad luck and so on, but it remains true for the group as a whole.

If you want the figures just around longevity the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says a boy born now can expect to live for about 80 years and a girl 85 years.

Had they been born at the end of 19th century the figure was more like 50 years if you were lucky due to high rates of child mortality, lower standards of medicine etc.

Strikingly, if you are 65 now and have survived all the various perils of birth and youth, you can expect to live on average almost another 20 years for men and 22 years for women.

Given the choice of being born in 1885 or 1953 I know which I’d prefer but there is a slight catch.

As highlighted by former PM Paul Keating this week (Oct 24) the superannuation scheme was not designed, and is not capable of, supporting retirees routinely living into their eighties and even nineties.

And even if you are not going to live that long (and who honestly knows?) the amount of retirement income needed to live comfortably or responsibly or however you wish to term it is a contested figure.

Australia might just have been badged with the highest median wealth per adult in the world but with falling house prices, political instability and other uncertainties it might pay not to rely too much on that honour.

Yet there’s more certainty about another aspect of lifestyle-- us older Australians are refusing to grow up the way we used to mostly out of choice and sometimes necessity.

It might be running, roller skating, refusing to retire, re-inventing careers, reuniting or simply romancing.

You hear about disruption in the economy but this lot are, to borrow a phrase from the USA, disrupting ageing.

You see it so much everyday it almost ceases to be remarkable but what we are witnessing, and indeed being a part of, is well worth discussing and debating.

Among the many questions raised by all this extra life, which is also increasingly healthy, is what are we meant to do with it all?

Indulge and die, explore and grow, thrive or survive?

I turned sixty in February and in between various indulgent celebrations and expeditions these issues have tugged away at my mind in a generally positive way.

Apart from auditing my life to date and assessing what I have done, and more importantly left undone, what’s achievable, desirable and affordable over the next 20-30 years if I’m lucky enough to have not lost all my marbles?

While there might be very individual answers these are very common questions and over the coming months with the Fifty Up Club we’ll be looking more closely at them and most importantly your experiences.

Like it or not we are part of an extraordinary time in history so let’s not leave it to the historians or others to define how well or badly we used, or abused, our collective longevity premium.

It’s our life. Let’s make the very most of it and not just for our own selfish delights.

This group has never lived through such peace, economic prosperity and opportunity and few if any nations have enjoyed these benefits more than Australia.

Of course this is not everybody. Many groups and individuals have not shared in the largesse but while there are gaps most people have been blessed to be born when they were.

So how do we enjoy and make the most of these benefits in terms of what we can afford, what we can achieve especially in terms of fitness and health and what if anything we can give back to others not so lucky?

Some of the answers to these big questions are all around us everyday.

While some might fret about how much you need in super to afford a comfortable retirement many are just doing it be that touring around Australia in a campervan or taking a river cruise in Europe.

It might sound an extreme marathon…