In April 2018, GCOA convened a roundtable discussion focused on the conditions of aging, including reduced bladder control, declining oral health and skin health, loss of vision and hearing, and decreased bone density and muscle mass. The private convening brought 23 experts together in Washington, DC, to discuss conditions of aging and their impact on quality of life. Conditions are commonly accepted as a normal part of aging and therefore often go unaddressed. The objectives of the roundtable were to raise awareness among policymakers, health systems and individuals conditions of aging impact quality of life  and to encourage action to improve health outcomes and reduce costs within the health care system, care delivery models and public policy.

This Bank of America Merrill Lynch report, conducted in partnership with Age Wave, takes an in-depth look at women’s financial journeys over their lifetimes. Women face different and financially complex life journeys than men. These differences are due to factors that include caregiving, higher healthcare costs, and longer lifespans. The report finds that while women live longer than men, they have smaller nest eggs to fund their longer retirement. Due to the wealth gap, upon retirement a women on average will have accumulated $1,055,000 less wealth than a man, which significantly impacts their retirement security.

Breaking the stereotype often portrayed on TV and in the media of LGBT couples leading glamorous and expensive lifestyles; recent research from the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement shows that LGBT households fall behind their heterosexual counterparts across the board when it comes to earning power.

This Deloitte report on human capital trends points to aging workforce as an important untapped resource and potential differentiator for organizations. According to the report, companies that plan, design, and experiment with workforce strategies, workplace policies, and management approaches for longer working lives can reap a longevity dividend. Those that lag behind face potential liability concerns and skill gaps. Creating ways for people to have meaningful, productive multi-stage and multidimensional careers is a major opportunity to engage workers across generations.

This report, based on findings from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies “18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers,” highlights specific areas of opportunity for women (and offers comparisons to men). The report also outlines some of the underlying reasons why women are at greater risk than men of not achieving a secure retirement, such as lower incomes, lower lifetime earnings, time out of the workforce to be a parent or caregiver, and longer life expectancies that drive a need for greater savings.

This GCOA report highlights the impact bladder health can have on quality of life as one ages and stresses the need for greater awareness of and new, innovative treatment options for overactive bladder (OAB). OAB is an increasingly debilitating, yet often unrecognized and under-addressed condition of aging affecting 30 million Americans.

From 2015-2017, Nestlé Skin Health partnered with the International Council on Active Aging each September to lead an education and awareness campaign during Active Aging Week. Nestlé Skin Health develops and shares a set of fact sheets, videos, how-to guides, educational tools and quizzes to inform Active Aging Week participants about good practices to support skin health, a critical component to successful aging. The materials include information on how to recognize and prevent skin conditions and diseases that increase with age, such as skin cancer, dry skin associated with chronic diseases, side-effects of oncologic drugs, and even falls. The tools empower individuals to take control of their skin health at any age.

Transamerica Institute’s survey of 3,000+ non-professional caregivers nationwide examines their duties and the impact caregiving has on their personal health and well-being, employment, finances, and retirement preparations. It offers an in-depth analysis and demographic portraits of caregivers by employment status, gender, generation, household income, ethnicity, and whether they are the primary caregiver and became a caregiver voluntarily or not. The report also offers detailed findings about care recipients, including their health status and financial situation.

For its 17th Annual Retirement Survey, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies interviewed more than 1,800 for-profit employers with five or more employees to understand employers’ views on their employees’ future retirement, the extent to which they have business practices to support employees, and the current state of retirement benefits offered.

Andy Sieg, Head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and Age Wave CEO Ken Dychtwald delivered the keynote “The Longevity Revolution and Its Emerging Economy” at the 2017 IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics — the largest worldwide conference on aging. Kevin Crain, Head of Workplace Financial Solutions at Merrill Lynch, facilitated a lively discussion between the Sieg and Dychtwald on ways the private and not-for-profit sectors can collaborate to help people live long, healthy, and productive lives.

The sixth annual Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey draws on findings from workers and retirees from 15 countries spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. The 2017 report finds that both good financial habits and a healthy lifestyle are critical components of preparing for a successful retirement. The report also confirms that the gap between people’s expectations for retirement and the reality remains stark.

In April 2017, GCOA launched the first ever Dementia Innovation Readiness Index, a comprehensive evaluation of innovation in dementia treatment, prevention, and care across G7 countries. The Index examines the current landscape in which actions to combat dementia are occurring in terms of the enablers of and barriers to innovation. By doing so across the G7 countries, the Index draws out best practices and identifies areas needing improvement. The Index launched in Kyoto, Japan, at 32nd International Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International.

GCOA will launch an update to the Index at ADI on July 27, 2018.

Nestlé Skin Health SHIELD, the company’s global network of innovation hubs, developed an itch tracker, the first tool of its kind to objectively measure itch severity. The tracker, designed for use with the Apple Watch, can be used to track the effectiveness of itch treatment and is particularly useful for managing itch in those with Alzheimer’s disease and others who may not be able to communicate or accurately quantify their discomfort.

In 2017, Instituto de Longevidade Mongeral Aegon launched the Cities and Longevity Program, a two-part initiative to drive more effective public policymaking for healthy and active aging. The Urban Development for Longevity Index (IDL City Index) analyzes public indicators to measure the readiness of Brazilian cities for population aging, focusing on 6 critical domains: healthcare, well-being, housing, leisure, work, and finances. An update to the Index, expected in 2019, will expand the assessment from 500 to 1,000 cities across Brazil. The second part of the program, the Public Management for Longevity Project (GPL Training Course), trains city managers in the use of the Index methodology, as well as in Design and Process Science, to support their ability to plan and implement policies that promote active and healthy aging in cities.

Instituto de Longevidade Mongeral Aegon is the Brazilian partner of the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement.

In 2016, GCOA partnered with former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho to launch the first ever Digital Silver Forum. More than just a conference, the Digital Silver Forum is a dynamic opportunity where attendees, speakers, sponsors, and startups build connections and exchange ideas. The one-day Slush side event brings innovative thinkers, public policy experts, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs to Helsinki to connect and explore opportunities that emerge from combining our growing digital capability with the needs and demands of our aging populations.

Often seen as a social and financial burden, population aging presents a significant source of future growth, and it’s time for companies to capitalize on the opportunities. This panel at the Milken Institute’s Asia Summit in Singapore featured Nestlé Skin Health’s Peter Nicholson and S&P Global’s Anna Hughes alongside GCOA CEO Mike Hodin and Angelique Chan from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. In a conversation moderated by Paul Irving, Chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, the panelists explored the exciting potential of the longevity economy for employers, entrepreneurs, and wise investors

In July 2016, GCOA partnered with the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition on a white paper calling for quality measures for adult vaccines. The paper explains how vaccine quality measures can prevent illness and death, reduce caregiving demands, save unnecessary healthcare spending, and set the foundation for healthy aging. Further, it urged that adult vaccination quality measures be included in the implementation of two national measure developments in the United States: the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) and the Core Quality Measures Collaborative.

The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) has partnered with the EU’s European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) on Health and a consortium of partners to launch the Caregiving and Ageing Reimagined Across Europe (CARE) initiative, a public-private partnership to share best practices and improve the quality of elder caregiving in Europe. CARE is focused on the development of caregiving training and skills for future generations of care professionals. Current and past consortium partners include several GCOA members, including Aegon, Home Instead Senior Care, Nestlé Skin Health, and Philips, alongside some of the leading academic institutions and civil society organizations in Europe.