Longevity is one of humanity's great accomplishments.Yet it is seen as one of society's great headaches.As the world greys,growth,tax revenues and workforces will decline while spending on pensions and health care will increase.However,those extra years of life are predominantly healthy ones.Too many governments and firms fail to recognise this fact,instead lumping all the extra years in the damning category of 65 and over.This binary way of thinking,seeing retirement as a cliff edge over which workers and consumers suddenly tumble,bears little relation to the real world.A more radical approach would start by acknowledging that,in the rich world at least,many of the old are still young.They want to work,but more flexibly.They want to spend money,too.In western Europe the over-60s will account for 59%of consumption growth in cities between now and 2030,says McKinsey,a consultancy.
长寿是人类伟大的成就之一。然而，它被视为令社会头疼的一大难题。随着世界人口逐渐老龄化，经济增长、税收以及劳动力将会衰退，而养老金和医疗保健支出将会增加。但是．在寿命延长的那些年头中，人们绝大多数都是健康的。太多政府和公司都未能认识到这个事实，而是将多出来的这几年胡乱地并人“65岁及以上”这个诅咒性的年龄组别。这样的二元思维方式，将退休视为让劳动者和消费者突然跌落的悬崖边缘，与现实世界并不相称。一种更为激进的思考方式会首先承认，至少在富裕国家中，许多老年人仍然年轻。他们想工作，不过是以更灵活式工作。他们也想花钱。咨询公司麦肯锡称，从现在起到2030年，西欧60岁以上人群将贡献59%的城市消费增长。
