Over the next five years, John Hancock and its Toronto-based parent company Manulife will collaborate with the MIT AgeLab to “define the future of longevity innovation” as the result of a multimillion-dollar collaboration announced today.
“It is our shared objective that our work will educate and motivate people to do what it takes for themselves, their families, and their communities—to turn a longer life into a better life for all.”
Dr. Joseph Coughlin, MIT AgeLab
Under the agreement, John Hancock/Manulife and MIT AgeLab, a multi-disciplinary research institute that works with business, government, and NGOs, will develop research, thought leadership, and workshops with the goal of driving actionable insights for the business community, policymakers, and individuals and their families.
What led to the new collaboration? A looming longevity predicament. The World Economic Forum (WEF) reports that by 2050, the number of people over age 60 is expected to double to 2.1 billion. Yet, one-fifth of an individual’s life, on average, is now expected to be lived with morbidity or in a state of illness. Lifespans and healthspans are not evenly distributed at the national or global level: a significant outcome of socioeconomic and environmental disparities.
As such gaps expand, so does the need for immediate action to address what is already a major longevity crisis in our communities and the world at large, according to a press release announcing the collaboration. As the aging population grows, better understanding the intersection of health and wealth, including preventative health measures and retirement planning, will be paramount.
“The fastest-growing age cohort in the world is people over 85. As we continue to see people live longer lives, it is crucial that we gain new insight into how we can make longer lives synonymous with better and healthier lives,” said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO, John Hancock. “We fundamentally believe in helping make this a reality and know that this ambition does not start and end within the walls of our business. That’s why we’re committed to partnering with leaders in the space, like the MIT AgeLab, to help provide others—from policymakers to industry leaders to healthcare advocates—with critical learnings that can scale our shared mission to drive better health and wealth outcomes for our customers and communities.”
The research will explore the critical tenets of longevity in the United States with the development of a first-of-its-kind longevity preparedness index, to be produced annually over an initial five-year period. Work on the first annual index will begin in the spring of 2024. The index is expected to expand to include Canada as the collaboration evolves.
As lifespans continue to increase worldwide, the index will measure the readiness of Americans from every generation to live a longer, healthier, and better life; and provide data-driven insights for maximizing financial planning, health and wellness habits, work and retirement transition planning, housing choices, end-of-life planning, and technological advances that support critical health and financial needs at each step of the aging process.
MIT AgeLab founder and director Dr. Joseph Coughlin will lead this work with a team of social and data scientists along with experts outside of MIT. In addition to the index, the group will host several workshops throughout the year to engage in discussions and activations around longevity, generational dynamics, new technology, and behavioral insurance. Manulife/John Hancock has also joined the MIT AgeLab PLAN, an industry consortium examining how the business of advice might better prepare people to live 100 good years.
“My research team is excited to embark on this research collaboration with Manulife/John Hancock,” said MIT AgeLab’s Coughlin. “The spirit of MIT is to think and do. We want not only to identify the many different dimensions of what it takes to live longer, better; but also to measure the preparedness of a nation to live 100 good years. It is our shared objective that our work will educate and motivate people to do what it takes for themselves, their families, and their communities—to turn a longer life into a better life for all.”
The MIT AgeLab, based within MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics, is known internationally for its multi-disciplinary work exploring avenues of pragmatic, actionable innovation desired by, and useful to, aging consumers and workers, as well as their loved ones. This ongoing project spans sectors including automotive, healthcare, caregiving, housing and community design, and financial services; and inspired Coughlin’s bestselling 2017 book, The Longevity Economy.
The announcement also supports Manulife’s Impact Agenda, which seeks to empower sustained health and well-being, and builds on John Hancock’s inaugural Longer. Healthier. Better. Symposium hosted in Boston last September, where global leaders across public and private sectors convened to share the latest research and innovations driving the future of longevity.
SEE ALSO:
• Longevity Planning Across Generations
• John Hancock President and CEO Retires, Successor Announced
• The Year Ahead with John Hancock Retirement CEO Wayne Park
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
