To think living to over 100 will become the norm

[Wanttogohome78]

Partner doesn’t think so I don

IMO very few who reach that age will still be reasonably mobile and still have their marbles intact. Usually one or the other will go, if not both. I did know just one such, though, who died at 101.

I don't agree. I have seen several people who are 100, or over, and they are all pretty good. One woman I know died at 107, and she was really good right up until she was 106. A friend of my DF's turned 100 last week and he is in good shape. Obviously they have problems, but nothing major. A woman in a local rest home has covid at 105, and is apparently getting better. Maybe the ones who get to that age are the tough ones?

No most of us will freeze or starve to death next winter!

God I sincerely hope not!!!!
I don't want to loose my faculties and become a burden to anyone
I'd be happy to go in my sleep before I get too poorly

@Fedupbuyer

No most of us will freeze or starve to death next winter!

That's a very good point we'll probably all have to keep working and die before any retirement anyway!!! It's depressing

They say "people are living longer" then you here "1 in 2 adults will get a cancer" just so depressing

@Fedupbuyer

No most of us will freeze or starve to death next winter!

Good point. One of the issues that gets missed out is that we don't have the resources for our elderly now, so how would we cope with it being the norm to live to 100?

My great uncle Cecil died aged 96.. he'd been a heavy drinker & smoker all his life, was stick thin & survived the poverty of the slums, Ww2 & the smog. He ate one small meal a day as a child & as an adult everything was fried.
His only penalty was one year with mild dementia in a nursing home at 95.
So basically he did pretty well!!

Maybe the ones who get to that age are the tough ones?

Reaching that age isn’t about toughness, it’s largely genetic. My mum’s family is ridiculously long living, she and four of her six siblings lived to at least their late 90s, one of them died at 100, another at 104. Four of them had dementia and none of them were mobile by the end. My dad, on the other hand, was mobile and completely compos mentis at 99.

The whole thing’s a lottery. Genetically, there’s a good chance of my reaching 100 or close to it and the prospect terrifies me.

@knittingaddict

I hope not. More and more people will be living with dementia and other illnesses and I would rather live a good life and go before any major cognitive decline.

My mum has dementia. Dad had a stroke just before Christmas and it's caused dementia type symptoms. We've been looking at care homes and visited one which specialised in end of life care. I'm sure they are very caring, but the lounge was the most depressing awful place I have ever been in. 30 plus people slumped in their chairs, sleeping at 10am or staring into space and waiting to die.

Please don't think I'm being insensitive. I have a high chance of being one of those patients one day. I'd rather die first.

@knittingaddict completely agree with you

Long life v healthy life is the truth.

The hard truth is that being a burden on your family for a decade now isn’t fair or right. If you live longer (and we do) twenty years of severe disability is no joke either for you, or your children and grandchildren.

All my four grandparents reached a greater age than my parents did. If that trend continues I haven't got long left.

My maternal GPs died at 82 and 73. The 73 year old had had polio as a child, and was partially disabled, had also had a stroke and was a chain smoker with MH problems....so not exactly the picture of health. Both their children died in their early 60s.
My paternal GPS died at 53 and 75. Their children are currently 80 and 91 and 1 (my dad) died at 86, so have well outlived their parents.

There is a woman who is 104 in a local resthome. She looks nothing like that age, is in good shape other than her sight, and at the moment is recovering from covid.

I doubt it OP, the main reason being that few people can get to that age without significant care being provided, either from loved ones or paid carers. There are infirm people in my family at the moment who basically are still going because of having relatives around who support and tend to them, for example. Ensuring attendance at medical appointments to manage a range of conditions that the person otherwise couldn't cope with themselves, booking and escorting to flu jabs, going round often enough that they won't be on the floor long after any falls, that type of thing. Stuff that would otherwise fall through the gaps but that prolongs life when it's available and leads to people dying earlier when it isn't.

It wouldn't be possible to provide that level of support and care to the age of 100 to the bulk of the population, so it won't happen. It clearly isn't the case that people are going to live non-infirm lives for that long as things stand.

@SquirrelG

There is a woman who is 104 in a local resthome. She looks nothing like that age, is in good shape other than her sight, and at the moment is recovering from covid.

But she’s an outlier. That’s not the reality for the vast majority of very old people.

I think there is a report our somewhere that was before the pandemic which showed life expectancy decreasing in some areas of the UK (think it might be the Marmot review). Given that things have got significantly worse economically and our waiting lists are much longer I can't see it has increased again. Probably is much worse now and likely to decline further given the current state of things.

I doubt I will retire, at least not for long. Still renting, unless there is a drive to build lots of social housing for my generation when we are older. I suspect they will just work us til we drop then offer euthanasia instead. I suspect that is the Tories long term plan. They'll be fine though, which is the main thing

Having said the above though, I am not keen on the idea of living to 100. I find my current minor ailments frustrating and hate people faffing around me. I would hate to be in the position where I would struggle to take care of myself, so maybe what I said previously would suit me ok.

My comedian friend once wrote a skit about the elderly being moved onto giant cruise ships rather than care homes when it was the right time. Those who could go off and explore did so, those who could not do much stayed aboard. If any did not return from excursions, they had already signed waivers to not be reported missing and if any died onboard then they would have a funeral and be laid to rest in the sea. In many ways, it sounds better than a regular care home.

I don't think so due to people working more into old age.

I expect I will pop it by age 80 or 90 as cost of living so high and cannot afford to live well now. Let alone once I am on pension credit once my health fails me. I am 58 now and plan to work until age 75 if my health permits. My health really isnt the best with running my business and endless socioeconomic insecurity. I had to cash in my 2 private pensions in the pandemic although business has improved again I still feel quite penniless.