In an article for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, makes the case that people typically “look at retirement as leaving work, but we don't often think ahead of what else we might be leaving behind.” Coughlin emphasizes that retirees should not “forget to review your social portfolio’s retirement readiness and determine if you have saved and invested adequately in the social assets you will need in life after work.”
Writing for MarketWatch, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, examines how the revival of nuclear power could be beneficial for older workers with expertise in the industry. “The myth of older workers taking up space must end in every industry, but in a high-stakes sector such as nuclear power, older workers aren’t taking up space — they are a critical part of the future," writes Coughlin.
Writing for The New York Times, Institute Prof. Daron Acemoglu explores the “three epochal changes poised to reshape the U.S. economy in coming years: an aging population, the rise of artificial intelligence and the rewiring of the global economy.” Acemoglu makes the case that “if handled correctly, these challenges could remake work and deliver much higher productivity, wages and opportunities — something the computer revolution promised and never fulfilled.” He adds: “If we mismanage the moment, they could make good, well-paying jobs scarcer and the economy less dynamic. Our decisions over the next five to 10 years will determine which path we take.”
Writing for MarketWatch, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, emphasizes that the dockworker strike was “emblematic of broader shifts in the American workforce and the integration of technology in the workplace. As older generations retire and younger ones seek more flexible, technology-driven careers, traditional industries must adapt or be left behind.”
Writing for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, explores how many envision retirement as a long vacation, but notes setting realistic expectations is important to avoid surprises. “Instead, longevity planning is about preparing for what, how, where, and with whom to live in older age," Coughlin writes. "We're talking about crafting a plan to produce your best possible life in older age, not just planning and financing a really long summer vacation."
Joesph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, speaks with Atlantic reporter Charley Locke about how retirement can result in feelings of identity loss and can present cognitive and emotional health challenges. “When people are at the center of their universe through their job, we don’t have a storyline or a place in our society that is attractive enough to say, ‘Maybe I’ve had enough,’” says Coughlin. “You’re showing people the door with no direction.”
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, speaks with Forbes’ Jann Freed about the importance of social connections in retirement. We focus on money and financial security, but we should also be considering “the social capital (friends) we will need to remain connected, engaged, to have fun, and to manage the many challenges older age will bring,” says Coughlin.
In a cartoon for The Boston Globe, Sage Stossel spotlights how during the Cambridge Science Festival researchers from the MIT AgeLab spoke about their work during a special presentation at the Cambridge Senior Center. As part of an effort to spur innovations aimed at improving the quality of life for people in their later years, AgeLab researchers have “pursued an array of projects, from researching safer, more automated driving systems to collaborating on ‘smart home’ innovations for facilitating aging in place to the development of interactive robo-pets.”
Researchers from the MIT AgeLab and Transamerica have found that individuals ages 40 to 59 are more likely to struggle with preparing for increased longevity, reports Lorie Konish for CNBC. “The research finds while 74% of people in their 50s say it is extremely or very important to save enough money to eventually stop working, just 57% said they expect to be able to retire,” writes Konish. “Moreover, half of people in midlife are struggling to get by financially, more than other age groups studied.”
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, speaks with CNBC reporter Greg Iacurci about the importance of longevity planning, which entails creating a more complete framework for retirement that includes aspects such as transportation, social life and small tasks that could become difficult in old age. “Leisure is a story we wrote for retirement when it was short,” said Coughlin.” “Life is the new story we need to write when it becomes so much longer.”
Boston.com reporter Melissa Ellin spotlights the MIT AgeLab’s Age Gain Now Empathy System (AGNES), “a suit that allows wearers to feel what it is like to be 80 years old with some chronic health conditions,” writes Ellin. The suit was recently featured in “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth,” a docuseries highlighting scientific research and insight into the human body.
Researchers at MIT have found that those with an E4 variant display abnormalities in cholesterol metabolism, reports William A. Haseltine for Forbes. “The MIT team suggest that the disruption of cholesterol metabolism could be a fundamental reason why those with the E4 variant are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease symptoms,” writes Haseltine.
An MIT research study suggests that those with the E4 variant of the APOE gene are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms, reports William A. Haseltine for Forbes. The variant “disrupts how fat molecules are processed in the brain,” writes Haseltine. “It appears that the disruption of these fat molecules could be the fundamental reason why those that contain the E4 variant are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms.”
A new study by Prof. Daron Acemoglu, former postdoctoral fellow Nicolaj Mühlbach and London School of Economics Prof. Andrew Scott finds that while American jobs have become age-friendlier, “older workers haven’t been the biggest beneficiaries of this age-friendly job bonanza,” reports Andrew Van Dam for The Washington Post. The researchers found, “workers age 62 and older were significantly more willing to accept a smaller paycheck if a job involved moderate physical activity, more time sitting and the autonomy to choose how to do their job,” writes Van Dam.
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, writes for Forbes about the three major risk factors to consider when planning where to live in retirement. “Retirement planning can’t control the weather,” writes Coughlin. “However, critically and realistically assessing our personal resilience and how to best prepare for the possible risks of where I live, is a critical element to thinking about how I will live in older age.”