How longevity is reshaping life and retirement

With life expectancy increasing, a longevity expert recommends rethinking the way we approach aging, work and retirement.

With life expectancy increasing, a longevity expert recommends rethinking the way we approach aging, work and retirement.

With modern medicine, better nutrition, and *** focus on wellness, we're witnessing *** transformation that really touches all aspects of life and society. I spoke with Michael Clinton, an expert on the topic of longevity. The world is living much longer and healthier. If you think about this, 100 years ago our life expectancy was 62. Today it hovers around 80. Longevity really means, I would hope, living. Longer and healthier and happier lives. Genetics determines only about 25% of longevity. The rest, Michael says it's about *** healthy lifestyle. The number one thing is movement, eating as many fresh foods as you possibly can, having good sleep, being stress free, having purpose, having community, creating your own personal longevity path through lifestyle is going to carry you well. Into *** long and happy life, and he says this shift brings an opportunity to rethink our later years in life. The retirement construct is an old fashioned one, you know. It was created when life expectancy was 62, so most people worked until they died. So if you think about you're 65 and you're healthy, you may have another 25, 30 years to live, and that's an incredibly new idea. How are you going to fill it? It may not be. The same career, but they're going to have to work longer to fund *** 90 to 100 year life. That means it's not just physical health you have to think about. You have to be thinking about can I fund *** 90 year life. The one story that I really love is *** woman who at 56 decided to go back to school to become *** veterinarian. Wow. And her attitude was like, I'll be *** veterinarian for 20 years and that's OK. As more of us. To live longer, we may have to break down some self-imposed barriers. *** lot of people love to say, Well, I can't do that because I'm too old. It's self-imposed ages when in fact we learn that you can do anything at any age, and it raises questions for people even in their 20s and 30s. You have *** much longer runway now to think about how you want to construct your life. The roar in Michael's roar forward. Is actually an acronym for helping you think about how to reconstruct your life. R is the reimagination process. O is owning your numbers. *** is the action plan. The last R is the reassessment of your relationships. Roar Forward is *** business intelligence platform in partnership with Hearst Ventures, *** part of our parent company Hearst, reporting from Orlando. I'm Nancy Alvarez.

Updated: 4:00 AM CDT Jun 23, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

How longevity is reshaping life and retirement

With life expectancy increasing, a longevity expert recommends rethinking the way we approach aging, work and retirement.

Updated: 4:00 AM CDT Jun 23, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Longevity, the art of not just adding years to our lives but life to those years, is reshaping how we live, work and age.Modern medicine, better nutrition and a focus on wellness are driving this transformation, according to Michael Clinton, an expert on longevity and the founder of ROAR Forward, a business intelligence platform in partnership with Hearst Ventures."The world is living much longer and healthier," says Clinton. "One hundred years ago, our life expectancy was 62. Today, it hovers around 80."Clinton highlights that genetics account for only about 25% of longevity, with lifestyle choices like movement, fresh foods, quality sleep, stress management, purpose and community playing a much larger role. He also challenges traditional views on retirement and says this shift brings an opportunity to rethink our later years in life."The retirement construct is an old-fashioned one," says Clinton. "It was created when life expectancy was 62, so most people worked until they died. If you think about, you’re 65 and you're healthy, you may have another 25-30 years to live."Clinton says that means potentially working longer and rethinking how to fund a longer retirement period. "One story that I really love is a woman who, at 56, decided to go back to school to become a veterinarian," says Clinton. "Her attitude was like, 'I'll be a veterinarian for 20 years, and that's OK.'"As more of us prepare to live longer, Clinton says we may have to break down some self-imposed barriers."A lot of people love to say, 'Well, I can't do that because I'm too old,' or it's self-imposed ageism, when, in fact, we learn that you can do anything at any age," says Clinton. Clinton's ROAR Forward framework — reimagination, owning your numbers, action planning and reassessing relationships — offers a guide to navigating this new era of longevity.

Longevity, the art of not just adding years to our lives but life to those years, is reshaping how we live, work and age.

Modern medicine, better nutrition and a focus on wellness are driving this transformation, according to Michael Clinton, an expert on longevity and the founder of ROAR Forward, a business intelligence platform in partnership with Hearst Ventures.

"The world is living much longer and healthier," says Clinton. "One hundred years ago, our life expectancy was 62. Today, it hovers around 80."

Clinton highlights that genetics account for only about 25% of longevity, with lifestyle choices like movement, fresh foods, quality sleep, stress management, purpose and community playing a much larger role.

He also challenges traditional views on retirement and says this shift brings an opportunity to rethink our later years in life.

"The retirement construct is an old-fashioned one," says Clinton. "It was created when life expectancy was 62, so most people worked until they died. If you think about, you’re 65 and you're healthy, you may have another 25-30 years to live."

Clinton says that means potentially working longer and rethinking how to fund a longer retirement period.

"One story that I really love is a woman who, at 56, decided to go back to school to become a veterinarian," says Clinton. "Her attitude was like, 'I'll be a veterinarian for 20 years, and that's OK.'"

As more of us prepare to live longer, Clinton says we may have to break down some self-imposed barriers.

"A lot of people love to say, 'Well, I can't do that because I'm too old,' or it's self-imposed ageism, when, in fact, we learn that you can do anything at any age," says Clinton.

Clinton's ROAR Forward framework — reimagination, owning your numbers, action planning and reassessing relationships — offers a guide to navigating this new era of longevity.

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