Demographic change is one of the defining trends of our time, and its impact is already evident in the economic and workforce challenges faced by governments across the globe. Our economies and workforces must adapt to account for longer lives and changing working patterns and practices. This joint event with ILC USA and the Global Coalition on Ageing will shed light on the opportunities and challenges of longer lives.

We know that in Europe and North America, between the ages of 18 and 65 (when individuals are expected to be economically active) we are spending only two-thirds of these years in paid work. The ILC’s Healthy Ageing and Prevention Index, shows the average work span in these regions tends to be around 30 years; yet our economy and pensions systems assume we will be working, earning, and saving for almost 50 years.

What challenges might this present for economies and workforces in the coming decades; and what are the financial opportunities and solutions to make the most of our longer lives?

These are the key questions we will discuss at this discussion event alongside the G20 Finance Minister’s Meetings on April 16-18 and the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings taking place April 17-19, 2024.

We are convening a range of expert stakeholders from global organisations to address how we keep populations healthy and productive across the life course and discuss what changes are needed to keep people in the workforce for longer and, just as importantly, make people want to stay?

Confirmed speakers include:

• Haleh Nazeri, Lead for the Longevity Economy, World Economic Forum
• Martha Rebour, Executive Director, Shot@Life, United Nations Foundation
• Simon Brassel, Senior Principal Economist, Office for Health Economics

ILC UK will be launching our programme of work on the cost-effectiveness of life course immunisation at this event – for more information please see the programme page.

Please note this is an invitation-only event due to limited capacity. For more information please contact the event coordinator Esther McNamara.