Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, joins NBC News Now hosts Kate Snow and Zinhle Essamuah to discuss how Americans can prepare for retirement, reviewing several questions that can help individuals prepare for a longer life. “Most of us start thinking about retirement as somewhere between health and wealth, and that’s not incorrect, but it’s incomplete,” says Coughlin.
CBS News reporter Aimee Picchi spotlights Prof. Andrew Lo’s recent comments on using AI for retirement planning. “Lo stressed that it's important to ask critical questions when using AI for retirement advice, such as prompting an AI to say where it might be wrong and to list its assumptions and uncertainties,” writes Picchi.
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, speaks with NPR’s Allison Aubrey about his team’s work developing the Longevity Preparedness Index, which is aimed at helping people create a comprehensive plan for aging. “We want to look at all those big and little things that we take for granted in life," Coughlin says. "We may expect things won't change, but when a big life transition comes along — whether it's retiring from a profession, a death or unexpected sickness — many people have unintentionally ignored some of the very decisions that could help us thrive.”
In an article for The Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti writes about his group’s new research that “reveals that those over the age of 66 have more encounters with a broader cross-section of society than younger, working-age groups.” Ratti adds: “Armed with data that shows retirement expands opportunities for social interaction, cities could be designed to support this more deliberately. Retirement communities could be woven into student neighborhoods, for example, allowing knowledge to circulate across generations. Public spaces could be optimized to encourage everyday mixing.”
Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Clare Ansberry about how the baby boomers are shaping and transforming the future of aging. “They are reinventing old age,” he notes. Coughlin adds: “If you don’t have expectations of getting better, then you simply become satisfied with what is.”
In an article for Fortune, Aimee DeCamillo and Diane Ty highlight the Longevity Preparedness Index developed by researchers from the MIT AgeLab and John Hancock. The index highlights how “Americans are entering what could be 30- to 40-year retirements with meaningful gaps in preparedness, particularly around care, health, and the non‑financial factors — such as social connections and purpose — that shape quality of life. Better support and planning to elevate that broader view is one of the most important shifts we can make.”
Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found that “one in five couples could boost retirement savings by reallocating contributions,” reports Caroline Castrollon for Forbes. “There are pretty large gains to coordinating your finances,” explains Prof. Taha Choukhmane. “We find that couples leave quite a lot of money on the table every year.”
In an article for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, emphasizes that: “Retirement planning can no longer be framed solely as a question of how much to save or how to invest. It must also account for how to live in a world where stability is less certain, shocks arrive in close succession, and the systems that underpin daily life — energy, supply chains, and healthcare — are more exposed to disruption than the standard retirement playbook assumed.”
A study by Prof. Taha Choukhmane and his colleagues has found that “by switching retirement contributions to the account with the higher match rate, 1 in 5 couples could increase their savings by an estimated $750 per year,” reports Lorie Konish for CNBC. “The absence of coordination can be a choice, but it’s a costly choice,” says Choukhmane.
MIT AgeLab Research Scientist Lisa D’Ambrosio speaks with Parade reporter Chrissy Callahan about in-home and online safety tips for seniors living alone. “Don’t feel pressured to act on something or to make a decision quickly in response to a telephone call or a text message from someone you do not know personally,” explains D’Ambrosio. “Fraudsters and scammers often try to use time pressure to get people to do things or make choices they would not make if they had a little bit more time to consider their actions and choices. Talk to a family member, talk to a friend, talk to your partner – get another perspective.”
Prof. Emeritus Paul Osterman speaks with The Boston Globe reporter Scotty Nickerson about increased employment opportunities in nursing homes and residential care facilities. “Baby boomers and retirements are going to increase demand, and a lot of folks are going to need longer-term health care,” says Osterman.
Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, speaks with WBUR’s Here & Now host Indira Lakshmanan about his work developing a longevity index. “In our studies at the AgeLab, believe it or not, 70 percent of us believe that our significant other, or adult children are going to take care of us, [but] only 30 percent of us had the conversation.”
Research by Kelsey Moran PhD '25 and her colleagues have found that immigrant health care workers are crucial to helping older Americans live independently at home, reports Stuart Anderson for Forbes. “The study found a 10 percentage point increase in the less-educated immigrant population in an area reduces by 29% the probability someone 65 years or older would live in a nursing home or other institutional setting,” explains Anderson.
Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Kay Lazar about his recent study examining how Americans are preparing for their later years. “I’m hoping this is a kick-start moment, to start having people realize that it’s more than money,” says Coughlin. “It is more than my blood pressure and my cholesterol level, and that I need to start thinking about other dimensions.”
Writing for Forbes, Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab spotlights how researchers from the MIT AgeLab and John Hancock developed a new longevity index. The Index aims to change “how we measure, teach, discuss and think about the future of aging,” explains Coughlin. “The Index measures preparedness across eight critical domains that research shows are fundamental to quality of life in older age: health, finance, care, home, daily activities, social connection, community, and life transitions.