As many as one in three children born in the UK today will live to blow out their 100th birthday candles.

This is a tremendous human success story. It’s an incredible testament to social progress in areas like public health, sanitation, vaccination, nutrition and medical science. What could be a greater gift than more time alive? More time to spend doing the things that matter to you, being with the people that matter to you. It’s literally existential.

But there’s a problem. Our minds are still stuck in a traditional twentieth century model of a 75 year life spent in three simple stages – first education until we reach young adulthood, then work and perhaps raising a family, and then a final phase of full-time leisure in the form of retirement from around our mid-60s. But making the most of a 100 year life will be very hard to do with a model like that.

Instead of relying only on the education we got as children and young adults, we’ll probably want to re-educate and reskill ourselves as adults to sustain fulfilling careers. Instead of cramming all our earning into only three or four decades of adulthood, we could stretch out our working lives for longer, giving ourselves more space to spend time with family during those pressured middle years, and realising that being in your 50s or 60s needn’t mean you are on the home straight of an existing career, but could instead be a time to take your work in a new, more fulfilling direction. And we’ll need to make sure we can be financially secure throughout these periods of learning, working and caring.

We’re on the cusp of a huge shift in how we need to think about how and when we learn and study, work, earn and save, care for others, and rest and play. Our own journeys to retirement won’t look anything like our parents’ or grandparents’ did.

It’s a fact that’s rarely discussed, and one which individuals, governments, pension providers and employers all still need to catch-up with.

Fortunately, you can take steps to take control over how you live your longer life, with a little preparation and support.

Swerving the savings gap

In our recent research, we found only 14 per cent of people currently saving in to a defined contribution pension are actually on track for the retirement incomes they say they want. And of those who think they are on track, one in three are actually facing a pension savings shortfall of more than £100,000.

If this is ringing warning bells for you, there’s plenty you can be thinking about to identify and help close any gap. Working out what you need for the retirement you want is key to understanding the elements that make up your preparations for the future, and tools like a pension calculator are useful for this.

You and your state pension

With the growing cost-of-living constantly in the headlines, it’s more important than ever to maximise your own retirement pot. In the UK, part of this comes from the state pension. You can check what your state pension age and entitlements might be here. Alone, though, it isn’t enough to cover more than basic expenses. And so for most of us we need to see the state pension as a useful supplement to a workplace or private pension, savings and other assets.

Supporting carers

Living longer also means it’s getting more common for four of five generations of the same family to be alive at once. This can mean people – most often women – are caring for multiple generations at the same time. This can affect earnings and make it more of a challenge to save. For some, a move into part time working might be required, and for others they may need to stop working, even if for a short period.

Many people find returning to work after  a difficult task but help can be available, with a growing number of employers offering flexible working and returner programmes.

If this scenario resonates with you or someone you’re close to, it’s important to talk about it. Organisations like Carers UK are there to offer support.

Enjoying a fulfilling extended working life

Sustaining longer working lives is easier for some of us than others. People in physical jobs, and people who experience health conditions and disabilities that limit or change their ability to work, are much less likely to still be in work in their 50s and 60s. Supporting people to remain in good jobs for as long as they want and need is the responsibility of many different people and organisations, including employers and government. But there are things you can do. One would be to think about your careers options as you progress through your career and access careers advice. We all have friends who’ve switched industry, reskilled or set up on their own. It’s not easy, but there’s more and more careers support available for experienced workers. Initiatives like the Careers can change campaign have been designed to inspire people and signpost them meaningful support.

Solving the retirement challenge

All this may leave you with more questions than answers, and that’s perfectly normal. Trying to save more is key, but it’s not always possible and only ever one part of the solution.

At Phoenix Group we’re committed to working with policymakers and businesses to develop solutions that help you and your family improve financial readiness for longer lives.

We also know that the responsibility of navigating our new world of longer lives cannot only be placed on individual’s shoulders. It can’t just be a matter of each of us changing how we choose to play the game of life. We also need to change the rules of the game. That’s why we’re advocating for policy change and employer action to make it easier for people to access good information and advice about their finances and careers, to stay in and switch decent jobs with decent pensions as they get older and get back into work when they have left or lost their jobs, and to be supported to retrain at all ages.

Seizing the opportunity of longer lives can mean a lot of change, and it’s not always going to be easy. But if we are going to really make the most of this gift of extra time, we all need to start those conversations now.  

Why not start your conversation using #LivingLonger?