We’re living longer, which should be a huge opportunity for us all. But can we prepare for later lives, and how can it be done? There is widespread and common-sense based perception, backed to some extent by evidence, that planning and preparing for later life is associated with increased wellbeing at older age. But many people at mid-life have not thought much about their later life, nor taken fundamental future-oriented actions, such as engaging in financial planning or writing a will.
For some, later life may be a distant future that doesn’t need to be thought about until, well, later. For others, it’s right around the corner and is the next stage in their lives. At the event we looked at general trends and encouraged attendees to make some personal reflections about their own lives.
The event marked the launch of our research on planning and preparing for later life, conducted by Anglia Ruskin University. The report is a summary of the evidence that exists about who does or doesn’t plan for the future, what the barriers and enablers might be to planning, and what might work to help people plan more.