Non-financial assets key to 100-year life, according to London Business School expert

Investing in non-financial assets such as friends and family is crucial to living longer, says LBS economist.

Dubai, UAE, 27 April 2016- Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, London Business School who has co-authored a new book The 100-Year Life (published June 2016) with Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, made the remarks while speaking on CNBC Asia.

“Every generation is living 10 to 15 years longer than their parents’ generation,” Scott told viewers of CNBC’s Squawkbox.

“On the physical side of things genetics plays a big role,” Scott explains. “Being healthy about what you eat, how often you exercise and using your brain regularly are all key. But investing in your non-financial assets – family, friends and personal networks – is going to be crucial.”

The increase in longevity will encourage fundamental changes in how we approach life and work, according to Scott.

“The concept of the three-stage life – where we grow up, work and retire - is changing, and we are particularly seeing this take effect in the 18 – 30 year-old category.  They know that they have a longer life and their options are more valuable, so are delaying things like marriage and starting work later.

“If you’re living to 100-years-old, you can’t retire at 65 anymore because you’re not saving enough to last you that long. You’ll probably have a three-stage career doing very different things in each stage. The idea of joining a firm to get more money and more seniority is going to get completely broken.”