In this Issue:
Chairman’s Note
We are living through the most challenging time in recent memory. From a once-in-a-century pandemic to our daunting political, economic, and social divides, all of us are struggling. But it is in such times that we recognize the possibilities of our work. Our Center aims to improve lives through its efforts to promote healthy longevity and financial wellness. Our board members and their organizations seek to elevate health, work, housing, opportunity, and intergenerational collaboration. Across our network, colleagues are working toward a better future. To paraphrase Dr. King, our ultimate measure is not where we stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where we stand in times of challenge and controversy. In a time when all of us must do even more, your support and involvement sustain us.
-Paul Irving, Chairman, Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging
Featured News
“Innovative Strategies to Finance and Deliver Long-Term Care”
The Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging and Innovative Finance teams, including Nora Super, Arielle Burstein, Jason Davis, and Caroline Servat, analyze pressing barriers to meeting the long-term care (LTC) needs of Americans in a working paper for the Wharton Pension Research Council. Based on this research, they identified actionable suggestions to improve the financing and delivery of LTC in the United States.
The findings from the working paper are also featured on the Pension Research Council’s RetireSecure blog.
Milken Institute Power of Ideas
Ellie Hollander, president and CEO, Meals on Wheels America, Peter Mullin, chairman, M Center of Excellence, Wallis Annenberg, chairman of the board, president, and CEO, Annenberg Foundation, and Jim Mellon, chairman, Burnbrae contributed their expertise to the Milken Institute Power of Ideas essay series.
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Hollander discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing under-investments in senior hunger and isolation. Read more about the way forward.
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Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation are setting a philanthropic example with their innovative new GenSpace in Los Angeles. Learn more by reading her essay here.
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Mullin explores the best ways to individualize retirement planning in a time of increasing longevity.
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Mellon discusses the relationship of food sources to the future of health. He argues that we must fix the food supply chain to protect our environment and populations in the future.
NextAvenue Series
Beginning in October, the Center and PBS NextAvenue will co-publish a series of interviews with experts from our Advisory Board sharing their perspectives on the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults, including what can be done to stem the worst outcomes and to realize silver linings. This seven-part series covers Health and Wellness, Advances in Bioscience, Societal Response, Work and Careers, Housing and Community, Retirement Security, and Philanthropy.
Recent Events
The Alliance to Improve Dementia Care
On July 20, the Center announced the launch of the Alliance to Improve Dementia Care. The Alliance is supported by founding members AARP, the Alzheimer’s Association, Bank of America, Biogen, Eli Lilly, Humana, and The John A. Hartford Foundation. It seeks to transform the complex health and long-term care systems that people at risk for and living with dementia must navigate.
Nora Super, senior director of the Center, is also serving as executive director of the Alliance and will build upon the convening expertise and relationship network of the Milken Institute to bring together stakeholders from health systems, industry, research, advocacy, philanthropy, and government. On September 30, 50+ Alliance members will meet to chart its’ course and ensure that people impacted by dementia receive the right care at the right time.
On the Horizon
Global Conference
The Milken Institute will be hosting its first virtual Global Conference from October 12 to 21. Although this year may look slightly different than years past, we look forward to hosting panels about chronic disease, retirement security, social isolation, and healthy longevity amid a global pandemic and a time of great social divides. Get involved by joining the livestreams and following along on our social media.
Together Apart: Findings from the Social Isolation Impact Summit
The Motion Picture and Television Fund and the Center co-hosted the Social Isolation Impact Summit on July 1 to explore critical efforts to combat loneliness. With support from The SCAN Foundation, an upcoming report will summarize findings from the Summit and highlight best practices and resources. The report will be released during the Milken Institute Global Conference and will be discussed during our Social Isolation panel on October 19th. Follow us on social media for the latest on where to watch the live-streamed panel and read the report.
Roundtable on Reducing Disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
The Alliance to Improve Dementia Care is hosting its first invitation-only roundtable on October 29, 2020. The roundtable will bring together experts to engage in a dialogue about the social determinants of brain health, the role of the health and long-term care systems in reducing disparities, and broader expansion of dementia-friendly communities into communities of color. The recommendations from this roundtable discussion will inform an executive summary to be released at the Future of Health Summit, with a full report to follow.
Future of Health Summit
On December 7, 8, and 9, the Milken Institute will host its annual Future of Health Summit virtually to explore telehealth, long-term care financing and delivery, and strategies to reduce health and economic disparities.
Financial Innovations Lab: Long-Term Care Financing and Delivery
Together with the Institute’s Innovative Finance team, and in partnership with Genworth, the Milken Institute will move our initial research on LTC financing and delivery forward by conducting a Financial Innovations Lab on October 14. We will bring together experts in health care, LTC, insurance, public policy, financial services, institutional investing, philanthropy, and social impact to evaluate and test new models for funding LTC and improving care delivery. After completion of the Lab, a report will detail findings and recommendations.
From Our Advisory Board
Amgen, in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, has launched the Ageing SHIFT Index, looking at G20 countries and their preparedness for an older population. The report includes measures in areas of accessibility, inclusivity, and affordability.
Bank of America released a new study of gender roles and stereotyping in relation to female investors, and how unconscious biases add to disparities between men and women in retirement preparedness. They also released the 10th-anniversary edition of their Workplace Benefits Report.
Edelman Financial Engines and the Funding Our Future Coalition, in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center, is advancing the TRUST Fund for America, an initiative to create a retirement fund for Americans starting at birth, funded through special savings bonds.
Edward Jones and Age Wave jointly released a report looking at changing views of retirement. The report synthesizes responses into four “new pillars of retirement:” health, family, purpose, and finances.
Encore.org announced its new Gen2Gen Innovation Fellows, a diverse group of leaders focused on intergenerational solutions to social challenges.
Pinchas Cohen, dean of the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, recently partnered with the Buck Institute and received a National Institute on Aging grant, opening the USC-Buck Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging.
The Stanford Center on Longevity launched “A New Map of Life: After the Pandemic,” a series of essays highlighting areas of need. The series covers ageism and discrimination, accessibility in communities, technology, and health care, and how the COVID crisis is creating unique opportunities to address these issues.
Tivity Health released results from surveys on the impact of COVID-19 on SilverSneakers members and how they are adapting to stay active until they can resume regular activities.
Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies recently released the results of the Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey in the report “The New Social Contract: Age-Friendly Employers,” discussing how companies are key to preparing employees for retirement via a spectrum of tools, from employer-sponsored welfare programs to workplace wellness practices.
William Dow, professor of Health Policy and Management in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, published a report that showed that significant costs and COVID-19 cases could have been avoided had California maintained a personal protective equipment stockpile.
WorkingNation released a new digital magazine for Labor Day 2020, discussing challenges and opportunities in the landscape of work. It includes a range of compelling articles, videos, and podcasts on the value of older workers.