Robert writes for CompareTheMarket.com, sharing some thoughts on what might ease the prospect of turning the golden age of 50 in the future.
The golden age of 50. Half a century. A quinquagenarian. Reaching your 50s is a landmark for anyone, and is traditionally perceived as something of a turning point in life. It may even be a time when you start to approach current and future plans a little differently.
With the stresses of forging a career and getting onto the property ladder hopefully behind you, it might be that you start to shift your priorities to other things. But how will the lifestyle of 50-year-olds today differ from those people who’ll be turning fifty at the start of the next decade, and will it become easier to live longer, healthier lives?
The world’s population is ageing. In fact, around the world, the over-60s population has more than doubled since 1980, and predictions suggest that the population will double once more by 2050 to over two billion. Much of this trend can be attributed to the developments we’ve seen in the field of medicine, and innovative technologies are continuing to help people to live fuller lives.
However, it’s not just technological advances that will largely dictate how we live our lives in the future. The state pensionable age is continuing to rise in the UK, and it will reach 67 before 2030 for both men and women. With people working longer into their 60s and 70s, we have to consider the effects that this could have on people’s lifestyles.
In this post, we’ll explore what being 50 years of age might look like in the future, and discuss the different factors that could affect the way we live our lives in years to come.
What Will Help Turning 50
Easier In The Future?
Technology
Technology already plays a central role in most people’s lives, and it’s likely that we’ll all start to rely on modern innovations even more as we grow older. There are so many different areas where we are already benefiting from technology during the ageing process, from medical innovations to protect our health, to tools that allow us to maintain our independence. But what might the tech of the future look like, and how will people in their 50s and older stand to benefit from these advancements?
Fintech
Fintech, or financial technology, is a relatively new industry that is revolutionising the way we manage our finances. From mobile apps that help us budget and save money to online investment platforms, fintech is making it easier than ever to take control of our financial lives.
Perhaps one of the most convenient aspects of this technology is that it allows us to manage our finances from anywhere in the world. With a few taps on our smartphones, we can make payments, transfer money, and keep track of our spending.
As it continues to evolve, it’s likely that even more innovative and convenient financial products and services will become available, making our lives easier. For instance, artificial intelligence is set to play a more central role in making transactions faster and more efficient, but many more avenues are also being explored. Taking away some of the stresses associated with traditional approaches to financial management will free up more time for us to focus on the things that matter most to us.
Home exercise habits
During the pandemic, millions of people took to their living rooms and bedrooms to carry out their virtual exercise routines. With gyms around the world temporarily closing their doors, we saw a rapid growth in the use of home exercise machines and equipment, and this trend is set to continue long after the covid years have passed.
Experts predict that the primary reason why home workouts are here to stay is convenience. The industry has seen a shift from more drawn-out gym sessions to shorter, more intense home workouts, which are more efficient but can be just as effective. These shorter workouts mean people are able to factor exercise into their daily routines more easily, freeing up more time during the week.
It’s not just the apps and equipment that will revolutionise the way we approach our workouts – smart clothing is also being developed by several companies. These futuristic garments will be able to measure the wearer’s vitals, to make tracking fitness easier.
Whilst medicines will likely have an increasingly important part to play in helping people live longer, exercise is another crucial part of healthy living and will continue to be so in ten years time – even if it’s under a slightly different guise.
Electric cars
In place of hover cars and floating highways, the likelihood is that by 2030, electric cars will be the vehicle of choice for the vast majority of drivers. In the UK, the government has set out its intentions for all new cars to be emission-free at the tailpipe by 2035, but people are already making the switch en masse. And whilst alternative fuels continue to be developed, going electric still appears to be the most viable way forward.
The widespread adoption of EVs will provide many benefits to 50-year-old drivers. Not only will they help to clean up local environments by saving on carbon emissions (improving air quality), but they can also generally offer a far smoother and quieter driving experience that will enhance travelling and commuting.
Most models can also be easily modified with assistive technology to support anyone with a disability to get behind the wheel safely, helping them to maintain their independence. Until another new transformative technology enters the market, EVs will continue to drive the automotive industry forward.
Working arrangements
With the pensionable age on the rise, we have to consider how people in their 60s and 70s are going to cope with working far later into their lives than previous generations. First and foremost, medical and technological advances should help workers to stay healthier for longer, meaning working into your 70s will hopefully be less demanding than it would be today. But there are also likely to be long-term changes implemented to working styles to accommodate for later retirement.
For instance, many professionals across the globe have been forced to change their working arrangements since the start of the pandemic, with working from home set-ups becoming the new normal. And though we’re on the slow road back to normality, there appears to be a general consensus that workers want to hang on to many of the habits they adopted during the lockdowns.
In fact, the Office for National Statistics reports that 85% of people who were working from home during the pandemic want to adopt a hybrid approach in the future. This means that workers will split their time between home working and being in the office. But how might this setup affect people’s health and other aspects of our lives?
Disruption to daily routines, uncertainty around working schedules, and the likelihood of hotdesking could all go some way to explaining why 72% of people found hybrid work to be more exhausting. But it’s worth considering that if hybrid setups were to become a regular part of working life, we might see these negative effects lessen as people become more familiar with the demands.
What’s more, with more companies investing in infrastructure and technology to accommodate remote workers, many of the hurdles people face today will likely disappear in the not too distant future.
In summary
With people living longer, and life expectancies rising, turning 50 in the future may feel less daunting than perhaps it does now. With the full backing of modern technology, designed to take the stresses out of our lives, it will likely be even easier to look after both our physical and mental wellbeing.
There are, of course, some pressing challenges the world can expect to be still contending with in a decade’s time. A growing population will continue to put a strain on the planet’s natural resources, as well as infrastructure and housing. Additionally, climate change is expected to cause more extreme weather events, which could lead to the displacement of people and loss of life.
Despite the expected challenges, there is also reason for hope. In the last decade, we have made great strides in technology, medicine, and education. It is possible that by 2030 we will have developed new solutions to the problems we face today. We may also have a better understanding of our place in the universe and how to protect our planet. Whatever the future holds, turning 50 is sure to be fascinating.
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