In 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the globe, everything about the way we live and work changed.
Workplaces quickly became virtual, cities dispersed, and
a “new normal” began to take hold. For older adults, who are known to be at the greatest risk for infection, the data paints a stark reality. Adults over 80 experience death at five times the global average. In the US, 8 out of 10 deaths have been in adults 65 years of age or older. The impacts of COVID-19 on older adults extend beyond physical health. Nearly one-third of Baby Boomers say confidence in their ability to retire has declined compared to one-quarter of all workers.
As societies around the world gradually reopen and as we consider the long-term impacts of COVID-19, we must identify and leverage our immediate learnings from the crisis and apply those to other related critical areas of need, including our approaches to healthy aging and the silver economy.