The 100 year life

Your writer has five grandchildren between the ages of two and five. On a recent holiday I read “The 100 year Life” by Gratton and Scott, two UK academics whose book is rapidly becoming a must-read.

For children born in the West today, there is more than a 50 per cent chance of living to be over 105. A century ago, there was less than a 1 per cent chance of living to that age.

This is not science fiction. If you are now 20, you have a 50 per cent chance of living to 100. If you are now 40, you have an even chance of reaching 95. If you are now 60, you have a 50 per cent chance of reaching 90 or more.