The Longevity Hack

Planning for the Third Act.

We are living longer than any generation before us, yet our systems and attitudes are stuck in the past. At MIT’s AgeLab, Dr. Joseph Coughlin is challenging the outdated playbook of aging and reframing what it means to prepare for life’s Third Act.

The future is not just about retirement. It is about longevity planning, purpose, and designing a life that keeps us connected, capable, and curious.

When we got in touch with Dr. Coughlin for this conversation, he opened with an apology for his hoarse voice and the delays in scheduling our interview with Mind Over Matter®.

“Thank you for your patience,” he said. “In the last two months, I was in three different countries, 11 U.S. cities, three Canadian cities. And sick – not in a viral sense – but because of all that travel.”

The Director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is constantly on the road, giving talks, seeking corporate funding for the lab, and evangelizing for the necessity to do much more to address the needs of an ever-aging society. 

The AgeLab describes itself as a “multidisciplinary research program that works with business, government, and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to improve the quality of life of older people and those who care for them.”

Dr. Coughlin is the engaging (“please call me Joe”), ebullient, and entertaining leader of the organization, a man who shows little patience with the lack of progress we have made.

“So, I guess the thing that gets me going is – and it sounds bad to say this – but it’s a stupid problem. It’s an issue that’s been hiding in plain sight, and everyone’s been kicking the can down the road. Well, it’s time to act.”

In his book The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest-Growing, Most Misunderstood Market, he argues that attitudes toward aging are sorely outdated, more from the 1930s, when life expectancies were decades shorter, than today. Older people, said Dr. Coughlin, are too often seen as frail, declining, and unable to do much of anything other than wait for death. 

UNFORTUNATELY, BOTH GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY AROUND THE WORLD SEE OLD AGE AS A PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED RATHER THAN AN OPPORTUNITY.

The fastest growing demographic is the cohort over 65. They are increasingly continuing to work, with substantial buying power, even as the overwhelming majority of consumer advertising is aimed at younger people. 

The AgeLab’s work focuses on how older adults can and should enjoy a good quality of life, recognizing that it will not be uncommon to have one-third of adulthood after the traditional age of retirement. A central element of the lab’s research focuses on technological aids, exploring robotics, caregiving, monitoring, medication reminders, and motivating healthy behaviours.

We try to make it aging by stealth rather than big, boring devices that remind you of either frailty or need.

He cites a project the lab did with a Japanese company, a medication reminder that easily connected an older person with loved ones, fostering more social interaction, while including pop-up reminders that it is time to take their high blood pressure pill.

Dr. Coughlin believes in designing products with wide appeal for all ages: control panels in cars with large fonts and high contrast that can be easily read by all, or curb cut outs that benefit not only someone with a walker, but a young parent with a baby carriage.

AgeLab research, however, goes well beyond technology, delving into the broader implications of aging. 

“Yes, it is going to be a pension problem and a healthcare problem if we continue to think of later life today, the way it was defined a century ago. But think about all the things in between. Think about the housing. Think about a multigenerational workforce. Think about caregiving. Think about, frankly, little things like fun. How do we keep people engaged?” said Dr. Coughlin.

He said most of us do not fully consider how to fill the latter third of their lives. “I can say this worldwide, but particularly in North America, aging is an issue that’s trapped between a story of cruises or crutches.”

Dr. Coughlin talks about “hacking” old age; not hacking in the sense of breaking into someone’s computer, but in the sense of finding creative solutions to complex problems. 

He observes that many people think about retirement as a time of travel, relaxation, and low stress, but they underestimate the challenges of transitioning from full-time work.

“And so, after you’ve done your cruise, after you’ve spent time with grandchildren and whatnot, now you’re left saying, ‘Gee, those hobbies I thought were going to keep me busy for a long, long time? Not so much. So now what do I do?’ We have a brand new, open script that is largely unwritten. Or what has been written is so overly simplifying that many of us are left wanting.”

The MIT AgeLab is reframing the conversation about aging, moving away from the idea of retirement planning to‘longevity planning.’

Recently launching an initiative called the Longevity Preparedness Index (LPI), it goes beyond questions about whether older people are healthy or in good financial shape, asking them to consider such essential elements as where they will live, who they will spend time with, how they will find care, and how they will navigate the inevitable changes to come. 

“The LPI is not a score, it’s not to tell people how badly they are prepared,” explained Dr. Coughlin. “It’s actually a compass, a map based on not just our research, but research done around the world. It’s saying these are key areas that you need to think about to age longer and have healthier, better lives.”

He likes to boil it down to three basic questions:

01        Who’s going to change your lightbulbs?
This references not only decisions about where you are going to live, but about caregiving and whether you have trusted people who will be there to help you when needed.

02        Who are you going to have lunch with?
Connections with others are essential. Said Dr. Coughlin: “One woman told me years ago, ‘Joe, at my age, there’s a natural attrition to friendship.’ So, are you reinvesting to keep that social portfolio refreshed with new people, new friends?”

03        How are you going to get an ice cream cone?
It refers to access to the simple pleasures of life, which for Dr. Coughlin means a cool treat on a hot night. Transportation is a major cost for retirees. They need to think about how easily they will be able to get themselves to pleasurable activities, which can be tough in the suburbs with minimal public transit.  

“So those three questions, deceptively simple, are meant to make you smile, but more importantly, meant to encourage you to have in a conversation with your loved ones and also to make you think,” he explained.

The work of the AgeLab draws admirers from around the world.

“Overall, I’ve always been impressed with the MIT AgeLab and the work Joe Coughlin has led there,” said Dr. Alex Mihailidis, the former Scientific Director of AGE-WELL, a Canadian research network supporting and promoting the development of technology to support older adults.

“The Lab’s mission – to better understand the needs, behaviours, and aspirations of an aging population – aligns closely with what we aim to do at AGE-WELL,” he noted.
“Joe has a unique ability to translate complex demographic and technological trends into practical insights, and his advocacy for preparing proactively for longer lives is both timely and essential.”

Dr. Coughlin is coming out with a book in which the LPI will be a central thread, continuing his campaign to challenge the ever-growing ranks of older adults to think deeply and realistically about the many years they may have ahead. “The paradox is you’ve got all that freedom. Now, you’ve got the problem of what am I going to do with that freedom?”

Longevity is not what happens to us. It is what we choose to do with the time we are given.

Source: Mind Over Matter 22