It’s time, as individuals and as a society, to plan for the wider horizon

Good health: “In some ways the extra 20 years are uncharted territory”

Life expectancy in Australia has continued to rise over the past decade. A girl born in this country can now expect to live to 85, a boy to 81. Our average life expectancy now sits at 83. The new data confirms a megatrend delivering longevity to people across the developed world. Australia now ranks not too far behind Japan (average 85) but well ahead of places like Central African Republic (53).

A century ago, the average Australian could expect to live to the age of 62, which was three years before (men) qualified for the age pension. Over 100 years, we have added one year to life expectancy every five years. The amount of time we spend in late middle-age has extended, prompting segmentation of the life cycle into markets and stages. More people working and spending in their 60s, 70s and beyond catches the attention of business and government.

It wasn’t always like this. Before World War II there were no teenagers; this life form arose in the 1950s. Men entered the workforce at 15 and worked for the better part of 50 years, often with the same employer. Young couples started having children by their early 20s. There was a sameness, a blandness (by our values) to a person’s life cycle then, but there was also a logic to cramming much of the reproductive process into the early 20s. Kids had to be raised and set free from the family home by the time parents were getting old in their early 50s.

By the age of 50, pre-war Australians knew their remaining years were limited. Plus their lifestyle choices weren’t exactly informed. Decades of smoking, poor diet and an absence of exercise created a generation that looked, acted and thought old by the time they were 50. For men, the comb-over gave way to the No 1 haircut at some point in the 1990s. It was, oddly enough, one of the first attempts to change the perception of middle age.

The greatest effect of expanding longevity isn’t so much the bumping up of the over-80 cohort, it is extending the horizons within which a much younger life is lived. If you think life ends somewhere in the 60s, life is short and much is packed into the first decades of adulthood. But if you think life ends somewhere in the 80s (or 90s), youth, energy and endeavour is spent more judiciously. Reproduction is postponed, and involves fewer kids. They, in turn, are likely be nurtured at home for longer.

Superannuation makes sense to modern Australians. Making a choice not to smoke or to drink alcohol in excess (or at all) and to exercise regularly are part of an extended lifespan horizon shaped by the megatrend of longevity. Grooming, wellness, seeking ways to extend the last vestiges of youth: all these preoccupations find their way into everyday culture.

The extra decades of grandparents’ presence, love and support are a gift, a dividend never before available en masse. This time should be savoured, along with the volunteer work, mentoring and community activism this cohort can offer. But longevity gives us so much more. It changes the way we think. It cultivates a culture of caring, empathy, giving, of being able to see the fullness of life. For those enveloped by family and friends, it can be an especially meaningful and, for some, spiritual time. For others, sadly, I suspect it is a less contented place.

In some ways the extra 20 years are uncharted territory. We’re still grappling with how these years should be, or could be, lived, funded and valued for the meaning they give to our lives. It’s time, as individuals and as a society, to plan for the wider horizon.