The New 65: Turning 65 Is Not What It Used to Be

Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave, a research and consulting firm focused on the aging population, discusses how circumstances have changed as people near retirement age. Read more about the new 65.

Q: More than 4 million baby boomers will turn 65 in 2024 — the largest number of people in U.S. history to reach this milestone in a single year. How are boomers reinventing aging and retirement?

A: When Social Security was set in motion in 1935, the life expectancy in the United States was only 63. If people were fortunate enough to reach their 65th birthday, they had a couple more years before their batteries wore out. You didn’t even need all that much money saved because you were only going to live a little while.

Flash forward to today, when turning 65 means you have several years before you start thinking of yourself as entering the later parts of your life. There are all kinds of new role models. We see Harrison Ford returning to the role of Indiana Jones at age 81. Oprah Winfrey is still going strong at 70, and if Warren Buffett, who is in his 90s, were available to give me counseling on my investment portfolio, I wouldn’t say, “You’re too old.” I’d say, “I’m a lucky guy.”

Q: How do today’s 65-year-olds differ from their parents when they were the same age?

A: They see that longevity has risen. Their parents might have believed they’d live to be 70 or 75, while most boomers think they’ll live to be 80 to 85 or older. They’re also more used to reinventing themselves than their parents. The boomer generation changed majors in college, relocated for jobs and went through multiple marriages. The idea of trying something new is part of their DNA. They’re battling ageist stereotypes, demanding to remain on the playing field.

Q: Aren’t many 65-year-olds worried about outliving their savings, particularly given the cost of long-term care?

A: Eighty-one percent of older people we’ve surveyed say this is the best time of their lives or that the best times are still in front of them. At the same time, when we ask people what they’re most worried about, what rises to top is health and long-term-care costs. People have begun to realize that we haven’t created a version of longevity where our health spans match our life spans.

We spend more money than any country in the world on health care, yet people in 39 countries live longer than we do.

Q: Your research shows that having a strong sense of purpose enhances seniors’ sense of well-being and can even reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. How do you define a sense of purpose, and how can seniors achieve that goal?

A: For some people, purpose means faith; as people grow older, they’re turning to spiritual and religious ideals. A second bucket into which purpose falls is doing good for others. For the third bucket, people who have spent their lives taking care of kids and pleasing the boss want to do what they like, whether that’s fishing, becoming a teacher or learning how to play guitar.

Sandra Block is a senior editor at Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.

©2024 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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