How The Pandemic Changes Retirement

It is a bit early, perhaps, to talk about “Post” pandemic as it is still raging as I write this. Still, it is possible to get some ideas about how the pandemic will impact our world going forward.

My interest here is focused on the future of retirement and retirement planning. What I find most compelling is that the pandemic has accelerated many changes that were coming anyway – but now – the timelines are shorter. Most importantly, the pandemic will very likely speed up the time when people’s healthy life span (or healthspan) is further extended. The impacts to retirement are huge.

New Book on Pandemic Aftershocks

I am happy to be a contributing author to the just released book AfterShocks And Opportunities 2; Navigating the Next Horizon. My chapter is entitled, The Future of Retirement in the Post-Pandemic Era. The book itself has input from 37 futurists and strategists. You can find out more here on the book’s website.

A wide variety of ideas, scenarios, and possible future paths are covered in a broad mix of topics that range from food sovereignty, retirement, the rise of the crypto economy, China-US relations, and leadership skills, through to physical wellbeing, education, insurance, and urban mobility. Essential reading for anyone shaping political, economic, or business decisions, this book will help individuals plan for a sustainable future and increase their resilience against future risks

Editor Rohit Talwar

NOTE: for my readers – get a 25% DISCOUNT on book or e-book purchase by applying the follow code upon checkout; MN25AO2 [that is a letter “O” not a zero fyi.] Here is the link to the book website;

Aftershocks and Opportunities 2: Navigating the Next Horizon | Fast Future Publishing

Make Older People Healthier

The pandemic has underlined the fact that older people are more impacted by illnesses like Covid-19. If we could add up the global health care bill and include the negative economic fallout, the cost of this pandemic will be in the trillions $USD. Therapies to strengthen the immune systems – especially of older people – could have dramatically reduced this total bill. Is Covid-19 the last virus to hit mankind? Highly unlikely. So a good investment would be to bolster research and therapies to strengthen immune systems – essentially make or keep us healthy. This is indeed starting to happen.

Many aging researchers like David Sinclair and Aubey de Grey believe that the pandemic will is bolstering the acceptance of aging research – especially into areas involved with rejuvenation therapies. The dramatic increase in money flows (even a recent investment from the likes of Jeff Bezos) into this area certainly supports that notion.

Longer Life Spans Impact Retirement Planning

So the upshot here is that the pandemic will very likely speed up the time when people’s healthy life span (or healthspan) is further extended. Living healthy to 100+ is a higher probability for anyone under age 80 who is in decent shape now. Best guesses still put real rejuvenation therapies and interventions out 12-15 years out. But there may be interim discoveries that could be used much sooner to maintain and reverse some aspects of aging. Some of these likely exist now (metformin or other rapalogs, NAD boosters, stem cell therapies, cellular reprogramming, etc.), and they are going through more research and testing as I write this.

The impacts to Retirement and Retirement Planning of living longer and in a vibrant, healthier state are huge. Why retire at 60 or 65 if you feel vibrant and sharp at age 95? Consider, in 20 years, a 90 year old may look and physically be age 50. How will you afford to retire at 65 if you have 40+ years to live in good health? How would pension plans cope with an extra 25+ years of payout? Why would you wait until age 65 to take a few year “off” to explore the world and yourself – if age 50 is not even the half-way point of your healthspan?

For more on the shorter term impacts of the pandemic on retirement, consider buying the Aftershocks and Opportunities 2 book – and keep reading this blog as we explore this area in the months and years ahead.

Live long, live well, and prosper!

Michael