[LarryL]

The article is quite interesting, it sums up many numbers and projections I had read in several places.

But there are 2 other interesting factors to an aging society that they did not mention:

- what will the retirees (~60+ y/o) do with their time? Not a small issue, I'm not thinking about economical consequences but simply social consequences & people's well-being. For some people, their job means A LOT, and once they retire, they don't know what to do. My dad is an example: R&D engineer, worked a lot until he retired, nowadays he just roams around the house (a sad view).

- what is going to be the impact of such a huge number of older people on the moral views & technical progress? As you know, many older people grow more & more conservative ("stuck in their ways") or even reactionary as they age. This creates a serious number of potential issues with social progress and probably technological as well. Older people are often "left behind" by new technologies & social changes. This was not a major problem when they were a small minority, but once they'll become a not so small minority, their voices will be heard much more. I wonder if this could not lead to some stagnation or at least a slowdown in some areas/subjects (things like gay marriage, acceptance of alternative sexualities, etc.), or -at worst- a throw-back in some areas (look how HARD sexual freedom -in the broadest sense- has been hit those last 10 to 15 years, will you expect conservative/reactionary people to hold liberal views on that?).

[eezurr]

>what will the retirees (~60+ y/o) do with their time?

Depends on the country. In countries that place importance on family (e.g. central/south america), I assume they will be content with helping their children raise their children (i.e. grandchildren).

In the US the decline of communal activities (including religion), culture of independence, and people associating their identity with their job seems like a recipe of disaster to me. A coexistence of entitlement and boredom creates an addictive poison. If you've ever worked in customer service before, you deal with these people every day.

[ansible]

I've got a dozen hobbies that I don't have enough time for now. Plenty to do, watch and read. I'd probably also have a go at building a greenhouse to grow more of my own food.

[natalyarostova]

I'm right there with you. The world is so incredible!! I could work 70 hours a week on my own hobbies. I've never even though of building a green house; but I bet it would be a ton of fun. There is so much to see and do, how do people become bored and listless.

[dominotw]

Energy and motivation declines with age though.

[2muchcoffeeman]

You need to get people to stop working so much and have other interests in hobbies, community, family etc.

But the modern corporate environment probably favours people who put in double digit work days.

[Chyzwar]

> - what will the retirees (~60+ y/o) do with their time? Not a small issue, I'm not thinking about economical consequences but simply social consequences & people's well-being. For some people, their job means A LOT, and once they retire, they don't know what to do. My dad is an example: R&D engineer, worked a lot until he retired, nowadays he just roams around the house (a sad view).

Retirement age will move up. At some point, the retirement age in Poland for man was 67 years. (recently reverted). People in retirements will gradually become more active (better health, more opportunities).

> - what is going to be the impact of such a huge number of older people on the moral views & technical progress? As you know, many older people grow more & more conservative ("stuck in their ways") or even reactionary as they age. This creates a serious number of potential issues with social progress and probably technological as well.

You have Brexit and Trump as examples where older voter population bring "interesting" results. There will be positive effects as well. People have fewer children and would focus more on upbringing and education. Less competition for jobs would also help to balance technology displacing whole sectors.

> -at worst- a throw-back in some areas (look how HARD sexual freedom -in the broadest sense- has been hit those last 10 to 15 years, will you expect conservative/reactionary people to hold liberal views on that?).

It would work another way as well. Our generation (younger) will take sexuality and democratic freedoms as granted and as we age our conservative baseline would be more liberal than our parents.

[Yetanfou]

> what will the retirees (~60+ y/o) do with their time?

They'll work: "The health trend means people will live routinely to 100 in the coming decades, and as long as 150 years, scientists say. That suggests a much longer working life, possibly involving serial careers, and lasting well into our 70s, 80s, and even 100, say researchers with Pearson and Oxford University."

[oldmancoyote]

I'm 72. It gets harder every year to be productive, both intellectually and physically harder. We all may live longer, but that does NOT mean we will be able to work much longer.

[WalterSear]

Yes it does. This isn't the stopgap healthcare you are accustomed to. We won't live longer if we aren't healthy.

[imesh]

Interesting conclusion since people aren't healthier longer, they just exist longer. People still go senile and have the same health complications they used to, we just now keep them alive through the aid of medicine. It's even a worse situation with the amount of obesity related issues the current generation is facing.

[toomuchtodo]

With that in mind, it seems wise to reallocate resources towards R&D towards efforts to help humans live healthy, productive lives as long as possible, versus keeping us alive in decrepit misery.

http://www.sens.org/

[oldmancoyote]

You assert medicine is keeping folks alive longer as they deteriorate at the same rate. I believe people are living longer because medicine and healthy living keep fewer people from dying at an early age while slowing the rate of deterioration. Without clearer answers about capabilities and quality of live as one ages, it's impossible to say much that is meaningful