What the IMF’s Ageing Report Really Tells Us (And Why the Headlines Miss the Point)
"Fury as baby boomers ordered to work into their 70s – 'the new 50'"
That was the Daily Express headline in response to the International Monetary Fund’s April 2025 World Economic Outlook. It’s the kind of line designed to stir up outrage and click-throughs, and it worked. But it also masked the thoughtful, serious research behind the story.
As someone who has spent many years coaching people through midlife and later life transitions, I find this kind of media framing both frustrating and misleading. It turns a nuanced conversation into a caricature.
So, let’s pause. Let’s go beyond the spin, and look at what the report actually says, and what it might mean for those of us who care about ageing, wellbeing, and choice.
The Bigger Picture: The Rise of the Silver Economy
The IMF’s Chapter 2, titled “The Rise of the Silver Economy,” is rich with data and insight. It draws on health and cognitive survey data from over a million individuals aged 50+ across 41 countries.
Among the key findings:
In 2022, the average 70-year-old had cognitive performance on par with a 53-year-old in 2000.
Physical capacity has improved too, with 70-year-olds today showing comparable fitness to 56-year-olds a quarter-century ago.
These health and cognitive gains are linked to increased labour force participation and earnings, for those who choose to stay engaged in work.
This isn’t about "ordering" anyone to work longer. It’s about recognising that we are ageing differently than in the past, and that this has implications for individuals, societies, and systems.
Interpreting the Research Thoughtfully
The IMF’s point is that many countries are facing demographic headwinds: falling birth rates, longer life expectancy, and rising pressure on public pensions and health systems. The report argues that healthier ageing may provide a way to ease these pressures, not through compulsion, but through possibility.
It suggests that where health improvements are sustained, people may be able to work longer if they wish, and that policy should support this, not force it.
Flexible transitions, inclusive workplaces, and systems that value older people’s contributions are part of the solution.
This is a long way from the alarmist tone of some press headlines.
My Lens: Coaching Later Life with Depth and Care
Much of my work focuses on helping people reimagine life after full-time work. Some clients are in their 50s and 60s, preparing to wind down. Others are in their 70s and want to launch something new. Many are somewhere in between.
The question isn’t: “Should we work into our 70s?”
It’s: “What do I want this next chapter to look like?”
The answers vary. Some want purpose through paid work. Others crave rest, reconnection, or reinvention. Many face real constraints: caregiving, chronic health issues, financial uncertainty. Some feel energised. Others feel overwhelmed.
That’s why I resist generalisations. “70 is the new 50” might be true for some, but not all. And it must never be used to justify reducing pensions or denying people the right to rest.
A More Honest Conversation About Ageing
The real opportunity here is to reframe what later life can be.
Yes, healthier ageing is a powerful trend. But so is the need for choice, dignity, and equity. We must acknowledge health disparities, economic inequalities, and the growing diversity of later life paths.
Let’s build:
Workplaces that offer flexible roles, not rigid expectations.
Retirement policies that allow for phased transitions, not sudden exits.
Cultural narratives that celebrate contribution at every age, but don’t define people solely by productivity.
We are all ageing. This is our shared future. Let’s make it one rooted in possibility, not pressure.
Let’s Continue the Conversation
If you’ve read about the IMF report and felt unsettled, sceptical, or even hopeful, your response is valid. These are big questions. They deserve more than headlines.
I’ll be unpacking more of this in the coming weeks, including tools for thinking about contribution, wellbeing, and identity beyond career. If you're working in policy, coaching, or just reflecting on your own path, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
What do you make of the “working into our 70s” debate?
Leave a comment below.
Until next time,
Denise
Because I love what I do continuing for as long as am effective is not age related…just assessing if still good at it!
Having turned seventy this year I was drawn to a similar headline on the IMF report. It’s not surprisingly given me much to ponder. Not so much the question about work but first do the claims stand up. I was thinking about this as I walked the narrow and steep and rather dangerous mountain paths of my immediate environment with my dog on Easter Monday morning. The question I asked myself was could my late father have walked such paths at 70 my conclusion was just, but would it be something he would have done voluntarily and like me on a daily basis. My answer to that was no. Of course it’s not as simple as that is it. For one much of his later years were blighted by I’ll health Cancer being his worst affliction. Also unlike me it’s not the first thing that would have appealed to him in his later years as an enjoyable activity. Although in his fifties he was doing similar on a daily basis. Our physical activity if you compare his fifties to my seventies are very similar. Taking on new challenges heavy physical building work included. Although never particularly close, I was the middle child, I found myself when I was laying tiles on a flat roof on a very hot afternoon feeling quite close to him, aware he had followed a similar activity in similar conditions in the same climate. It didn’t occur to me then that he of course would have been in his fifties at the time. So I concluded on that admittedly flimsy evidence that perhaps the IMF report had something worth considering to say. It all of course revolves around health and how a person reacts to what it throws up.
The question I’ve been asking myself over the last few months is highly relevant to the report. Ever the optimist I have been contemplating how I intend to fill the next thirty years. Suddenly finding myself alone again unexpectedly after two long and mostly pleasant marriages the question is one I’ve been given a lot of thought to.