To stay abreast of the latest trends in retirement and aging in America, I like to attend the American Society on Aging’s gargantuan annual conference, On Aging. I recently returned from the 2023 version in Atlanta and wanted to share eight things I learned that you’ll want to know.
Before I do, let me set the stage: On Aging 2023 featured gerontologists, social scientists and hundreds of other experts presenting research findings, insights and analysis on everything from retirement to financial exploitation of older adults to long-term care to the Biden administration’s Medicare changes. One keynote speaker: CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, talking about brain health.
In his “Sages of Aging,” session, Ken Dychtwald, chief executive of the research and consulting firm AgeWave, added a touch of irony for the conference. Dychtwald noted that when he interviewed 12 pioneers in the field of aging for his book, “The Sages of Aging,” they told him “they felt it was time to move on to a better word than ‘aging.’” Many preferred “longevity” because it lacks the connotation baggage of “aging.”
This session grappled with ageism and ableism (discrimination against people with disabilities) in America.
“Ageism and ableism often reinforce each other,” said Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE, the nation’s largest group improving the lives of LGBTQ+ elders.
Ashton Applewhite, an anti-ageism and ableism activist, cited a Yale School of Public Health study putting the cost of ageism in America at $63 billion. Covid, she said, “didn’t make ageism worse; it shined a light on it.”
Tracey Gendron, chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Gerontology and author of “Ageism Unmasked,” said she was glad to see more conversation about ageism than ever. [..]
Click here to read the full piece. This story was originally published in Market Watch on April 22, 2023.
