Dear Readers,

Headlines are meant to grab attention. And this one got mine: “Older Americans are Hoarding America’s Potential.” In a recent New York Times essay, Yale historian and social critic Samuel Moyn previews his forthcoming book Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It, writing that the U.S., long defined by its youthful vigor, has become “an increasingly febrile country of old men.” Moyn’s argument starts with the political class and extends to the millions of older Americans he blames for blocking access to jobs and home ownership for younger generations. He calls for the imposition of mandatory retirement ages as well as other measures to “impose policies to transfer jobs, houses and wealth down the generational chain.

This generational shaming and blaming is to my mind an example of what Michael Clinton, author of the new book Longevity Nation, describes as “20th-century thinking that still exists in a 21st-century world.” For a more encouraging perspective on how the U.S. can become a longevity-ready society, check out Richard Eisenberg’s Five Questions with Clinton, an SCL Advisory Council member. 

Instead of zero-sum competition, intergenerational collaboration and connection show greater promise as a lever of socioeconomic change. Amanda Loudin reports in Alt/Shift about the benefits of a partnership between Maryland’s Goucher College and a neighboring retirement community where students in their eighties take classes with those in their twenties. It’s a model that promotes lifelong learning for older adults and the opportunity for younger students to tap their wisdom and experience, while at the same time shoring up the finances of smaller colleges and universities strained by a drop in the population of 18- to 24-year-old students. 

One thing Moyn does get right is that older Americans, those over 60 in particular, control a huge and disproportionate share of wealth, much of it stemming from home ownership. Global estimates of the assets controlled by people over the age of 60, range as high as $15 trillion, SCL Ambassador Emilio Umeoka reports in our special Deep Dive package on the longevity economy, but many companies are still at a loss for how to effectively market to these older consumers while capturing younger ones. Veteran Wall Street Journal journalist George Anders reports on venture capitalists seeking profitable investment opportunities in the longevity space who say that the landscape is far from a sure bet. 

We get that longevity is a complex subject and that media coverage often misses the deep inequalities that prevent so many older adults from growing older in good health and being financially secure. For every wealthy Boomer kicking it up in Margaritaville, there are far too many who lack basic retirement savings or are limited by chronic health problems or loneliness. 

David Wheeler’s Longevity Literacy column explores the work of economist Andrew Scott to calculate the benefits to individuals and society when longer lifespans are matched by longer healthspans, allowing older adults to remain productive, a phenomenon known as the longevity dividend. 

Allowing more people to participate in the workforce is key to realizing the longevity dividend. Our Game Changer profiles Jodi Anderson Jr., who overcame his experience of incarceration as a teenager to earn degrees from Cornell and Stanford and then to launch an HR startup aimed at helping marginalized applicants — those with histories like his, as well as older job seekers or those lacking college degrees — to find work, dignity and economic mobility. 

In Financing Longer Lives, MP Dunleavey considers the role of love in money decisions and finds ample evidence turning the conventional left brain/right brain wisdom on its head: Both factors matter equally in making big life decisions. Dunleavey interviews financial planning expert and SCL adviser Mark T. Johnsen about why love is a road map for financial questions and decisions. 

We hope you enjoy our May issue and welcome your feedback at [email protected].

—Karen Breslau