“Health is wealth” is a buzzy phrase these days.
In his book, “Whealthspan: More Years, More Moments, More Money,” Scott Fulton, a professor of longevity at the University of Virginia and the University of Delaware, is all in on that concept.
“Everything meaningful in life requires constant investment, whether it’s family, faith, friendships, career, athletics, or health. They all compound in response to persistent investment over time,” Fulton writes.
It’s a balancing act, “not another diet and lifestyle prescription,” he told Yahoo Finance, although you’ll find recipes for nutty oatmeal, hearty granola, and cabbage pancakes at the end of the book.
Here’s what Fulton had to say about managing finances and more for potentially longer lifespans, edited for length and clarity:
Kerry Hannon: What is “whealth”?
I’m just playing with the words wealth and health to merge those two. Whealthspan is this fusion of wealth, health, and lifespan. That would be the trifecta.
Scott, you suggest that the biggest threats to our financial equity aren’t the stock market, politics, or recessions. Can you explain?
The things that threaten our wealth or our preservation of wealth are medical bills and the cost of housing. The stock market trends up and down, but we know that for every time it goes down, it goes through a recovery cycle. When we retire, it has an impact on us long-term, but it may be minor compared to what we end up spending on our housing and healthcare costs. It’s easy to spend a hundred thousand dollars on someone needing moderately extra care in later years.
Read more: Here’s what to do with your retirement savings when the markets are shaky
And that impact of healthcare and housing on our economic security kicks in after 55, you write. Elaborate?
They tend to follow each other. One example is, say, a traditional couple — an older man and younger woman partner, and he is going to encounter his health challenges earlier than she does. They get faced with the fact that he needs assisted-living type care — separate housing beyond what can be provided at home. That couple finds themselves paying for two homes because his wife says, ‘I’m not ready to move to an assisted living community and don’t want to give up my lifestyle.’ That happens all the time. That’s when people begin to fall off the financial cliff.
What and where are the so-called “gold zones” in the US?
These are places where people have life expectancies of 90 or above. Inside the US, there are over 60 such communities. These represent millions of people living happy, healthy, active lives. These gold zones are places where average Americans somehow do something a little bit different that’s causing a different outcome in their life expectancies. There is a more balanced approach to living that includes the mind, environment, diet, activity, and community elements. That results in better health and life expectancy outcomes. These people are naturally in a more supportive community. They’re likely eating healthy food. They’re active in the course of their daily lives. It’s not any one thing.
Where are these zones?
They are distributed among 22 states, from small towns to communities within big cities like New York and Los Angeles. They have access to the same food, water, and healthcare, yet outperform our average life expectancy by more than 15%. An extra decade or two of healthy living might not sound like much at age 20, but to a 65-year-old, the opportunity to double our remaining years and fill them with remarkable moments is an unrivaled investment opportunity deserving of our attention.
Should living to 100 be our goal?
I don’t think it’s a purposeful goal. Chronic chronological age is relatively abstract. You don’t get a medal for living to 100. You may get recognition and a special birthday cake. It’s more what you’re doing with the years that you have that ultimately matters. It’s creating special life experiences and great moments. It’s really those moments in life that we should measure.
Some moments that grab and envelope us: The face of a child, excited by our return from being away on travel, or a room filled with people we love and who love us in return. Athletes exhilarated by new levels of performance. These are feelings of connection, feelings that know no age.
How do we build a foundation of wealth, health, and lifespan?
We can think about wealth as beyond just dollars. Financial wealth gives us flexibility and more options. And everything about aging is about preserving options. The natural reality of aging is that options fall off the table. It happens. So the longer we can keep options on the table, the better.
Health is the ultimate wealth. Everyone knows the story that the billionaire would trade all their money for one more year of health. The lifespan is really the vehicle. You need time. It’s all about creating opportunities for more time, which allows the special moments in life to occur. Health allows you to create opportunities for more of these moments, whether it’s spending time with our grandchildren, or out hiking in our 90s. We need to do the preparation to allow that to happen.
What are “super seniors”?
Generally, we’re talking about the growing number of those in their 80s and beyond. And not that just they’re in their 80s and beyond, but they are living normal, everyday active lives, doing all the normal things that they did in their 50s and 60s.
There are many people in their 80s who aren’t necessarily trying to work a 40-hour week, but they’re absolutely still working multiple days or parts of days as part of their purpose. They enjoy it. That’s why they continue to do it. They may need or benefit from having the income, but they counter the traditional view of, okay, it’s age 65, it’s time for you to get out and go retire and spend your time at the golf course and playing bridge.
Super seniors tend to be more active. That doesn’t mean they’re out running 100-meter dashes or anything. It just means they’re carrying on normal lives. There are many people out there like that, so I use super seniors as great role models.
Finally, what are some of the hallmarks of longevity?
Humility. Curiosity. Positivity. As long as I have that humble view that I don’t know everything, then I’m curious. Those two are the superpowers in aging.
If you don’t stay with the times, you kind of get passed over and you stop looking. We need to maintain our curiosity at a level that really gives us the kind of returns on new information and staying current and being able to have conversations with people around events other than complaining about whatever disease or aches and pains we may be feeling.
Early in my career, it surprised me to see world-class scientists asking seemingly innocent questions. Their curiosity seemed as intact as a young child’s, constantly curious about the world expanding in front of them. Having worked with hundreds of scientists, it’s clear that lifelong curiosity is a superpower.
Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist, and the author of 14 books, including “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in The New World of Work” and “Never Too Old To Get Rich.” Follow her on X @kerryhannon.
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