Pension structures, the delivery of healthcare, and the nature of employment all require fundamental rethinking to keep pace with longer lives, the World Economic Forum has contended, drawing attention to shortcomings in existing systems that leave older people vulnerable to financial precarity, uncompensated caring duties, and evolving patterns in when and how they work.
According to a WEF report, the global population of those aged 60 or older is forecast to reach more than 2.1 billion by 2050 — a figure that would represent well over twice the total recorded in 2020. The report called for longer lifespans to be understood as a multigenerational economic and social matter, not confined to questions of retirement alone, adding that extended lives are becoming a global norm even as the benefits they bring remain unevenly distributed.
Drawn from survey responses gathered across more than 67 Global Shapers hubs operating in 57 countries, the paper also incorporates findings from regional focus groups and a review of 237 community projects. Money troubles ranked as the challenge named most often and most broadly, with loneliness and barriers to healthcare and support coming close behind.
According to the document, welfare architectures designed around steady formal jobs, predictable pension timelines, and family-provided care had grown misaligned with the realities of shifting population patterns and evolving economic structures. Those working in informal or gig arrangements, along with women, caregivers, people in rural areas, and younger workers navigating uncertain futures, frequently found themselves without the support structures they needed.
The document identified ongoing skill development and training pathways, alongside protections against caring duties eroding people's financial footing over time, as components of adapting to longer working lives. It urged that ageing be understood primarily through the lens of workforce resilience, caregiving responsibilities, financial literacy, community belonging, and the capacity to navigate existing systems — rather than framed narrowly as a retirement matter — while also pointing to preventive health, digital access, and social connectedness as areas warranting closer attention.
Ageing populations were also flagged by the WEF as carrying notable economic potential. Those aged above 50 already make up roughly half of what consumers spend worldwide, a proportion the report forecasts will climb to 60 per cent by the middle of this century.
The publication called on communities to build enduring local capacity rather than rely on stopgap measures. A five-stage framework was put forward as a pathway for communities working to convert the pressures of an ageing population into durable, long-term answers. The process starts by mapping community needs and running small-scale trials, then moves toward longer-term work aimed at strengthening local capacity over time.
Where proven approaches take hold in one setting, neighbouring groups and institutions can draw on those lessons, channelling the gathered evidence toward decision-makers and private-sector partners to build the conditions for broader uptake and lasting structural reform. Planning over a decade ahead, the document called on those designing such programmes to weigh long-term consequences while nurturing structures that strengthen economic stability, wellbeing in later life, and engagement between age groups.
