So, one in five of us currently living in the UK are likely to survive beyond the age of 100. I didn’t sign up for this kind of nonsense. If I were still active, independent and financially viable (all three, of course, two out of three is not acceptable) then I suppose that I could live with it, but that seems increasingly unlikely. Housing and employment (yes, employment, we are surely going to be expected to work longer) issues are bound to raise their ugly heads. Plus, pensions and NHS resources are already stretched to the limit with no great prospect of things improving.
I think, perhaps, that the biblical idea of “three score years and ten” is cutting things a little too short in the modern era, “and twenty” seems more reasonable, but “and thirty” is really starting to push your luck.
Who knows what the overall impact will be in global terms and, more importantly, what knee jerk reactions will be contemplated by the authorities of the future. The realities of Soylent Green and Logan's Run are beginning to seem less and less outrageous as the years march on!
Interestingly, it seems that Japan is already experiencing problems related to excessive longevity. Is this something that we will all have to live with in the future?
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