For many years, I have been doing research into what it takes to prepare for a successful retirement. Through this work, I have learned that the concept of retirement means different things to different people. The traditional view where you stop working from one day to the next is becoming as outdated as the concept of a job for life, upon which the idea was built.

It was an advertisement that warmed hearts across Europe last holiday season — and, eventually, many in the United States by way of social media. An older man who appears to struggle just to get out of bed shuffles to a shed, where he starts lifting an ancient barbell. A neighbor rolls her eyes. Even his daughter is concerned. But the man persists.

As employees inch their way back to the office, are employers acknowledging that caregiving for aging parents, spouses, partners and close relatives is a front and center concern for their workers? It looks like it.

We will learn many lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, but one of the most urgent and obvious is the vulnerability of older populations to serious public health risks. Across OECD countries, nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths happened in care facilities and nursing homes—yet less than 1% of the population lives in those facilities. COVID-19 demonstrated that the best place for all citizens to stay safe and healthy, especially aging adults, is in the home. And the vast majority of the older population—80% according to AARP—prefer it. When—or if—they have that option.

Mike Hodin, CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA), spoke with Mamoru Yamashita, Director of the Division for Health Care and Long-term Care Integration, Health Insurance Bureau at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to discuss a new Japanese initiative that will link healthcare data to strengthen multi-stakeholder responses to key health…