Banking and Healthy Aging, Huh?
By Michael Hodin
At the Gerontological Society of America’s (GSA) annual meeting in Austin, Texas, Bank of America is once again leading on powerful research that advances the conversation on how to thrive as we age, across every aspect of life. Developed together with GSA, Longevity Fitness: Financial and Health Dimensions Across the Life Course is at once a new, innovative contribution to the aging discussion and a continuation of Bank of America’s years-long commitment to issues of financial wellness, healthy aging, and longevity overall.
The report breaks ground on important new ideas — “longevity fitness” — which focuses on how people can thrive across their entire life course by building strong social connections, embracing a healthy lifestyle, and tailoring saving and spending for lifelong financial wellness. These aspects of social, health, and financial well-being are the cornerstones of a smart, forward-looking approach to the demands and opportunities of our 21st-century long lives. Organizations and experts in the aging space, as well as individuals everywhere, would be well-advised to consider this report as a critical new lens to understand, measure, and enact healthy aging for lives that will routinely stretch towards 100.
While some might wonder why a bank is working with gerontologists, elder caregivers, and health experts from Alzheimer’s to adult immunization at all, the better question might be: how could a bank not work with these stakeholders? Kevin Crain, Head of Workplace Solutions Integration at Bank of America and Co-Chair, The Commission for an Age-friendly NYC, framed the imperative thus: “As we live longer lives, it is important to have strategies focused on the individual, family, community, and policy — to enable productive and healthy aging. At Bank of America, we are committed to developing the partnerships, insights, and actions to help along this journey.”
Indeed, it has been Bank of America, established as an early leader, recognizing the business opportunities and societal needs that arise from the nearly 1 billion of us on the planet over 60, rising to 2 billion by mid-century. As part of our longevity economy, Bank of America has pursued a number of bold initiatives that have clearly established its leadership on health, wealth, and aging for its clients and society overall. This is the kind of foresight, strategy innovation, and courageous leadership that enables it to thrive as a business and win numerous awards and recognition: most recently, Global Finance recently named it the “Best Bank in the World.”
What has underpinned its most recent report on Longevity Fitness is an impressive value creation at the intersection of banking and society, based on on six pillars to power its leadership on longevity overall:
· Link longevity to business goals and decisions. Bank of America approaches longevity as a key business driver for the 21st century, particularly related to retirement planning. It pursues this opportunity by regularly surveying its clients and employees on aging, leading on public policy changes, and defining a clear platform for strategic execution related to longevity.
· Build strategic partnerships. Through partnerships with organizations like GSA, Bank of America has built leadership positioning on aging that carries credibility with those already in the space. The company’s diverse set of cross-sector partners include the American Federation for Aging Research, USC Davis School of Gerontology, Age Wave, Stanford Center on Longevity, University of Pennsylvania Business School and Memory Center, National Alliance for Caregiving, and Milken Center for Successful Aging.
· Publish research that reframes the conversation. Bank of America leverages ground-breaking research, like the recent report on longevity fitness, to start and lead transformative discussions of aging. To maximize impact, this research focuses on powerful ideas, like the health-wealth link, sets the conversation in a relatable context, explores new topics, and defines new concepts.
· Integrate longevity into operations. Bank of America doesn’t just lead on aging externally, it reflects this commitment in how it operates internally. In 2014, the company was the first in the financial services industry to create an innovative position, Director of Financial Gerontology; it launched a ground-breaking training program on longevity for its financial advisors and other stakeholders; and it offers best-in-class eldercare benefits for its employees.
· Combine cutting-edge innovation and society-wide commitment. Leadership on aging requires looking beyond the business case to facilitate and guide cross-sector, society-wide responses. Bank of America has engaged with a range of forums and initiatives to achieve this goal, addressing stigmatized issues, partnering on the first-ever Financial Wellness Symposium, and participating in the White House Conference on Aging.
· Always communicate about the longevity imperative. Bank of America incorporates longevity into all of its internal and external communications, showcasing its cutting-edge work with the mainstream media, other thought leaders, the financial services industry, employees, customers, and society. As a result, Bank of America has shaped the external environment and created a new ecosystem where financial services is leading the conversation on aging.
Through years of hard work, commitment, and ingenuity, Bank of America has established itself as a global leader on aging — not just in financial services or the private sector, but at the center of the overall aging conversation. Reports like Longevity Fitness are a key element of that ongoing success. This work near perfectly positions Bank of America to work with global institutions from the G20 to the WHO, especially opportune when the Decade for Healthy Aging will be declared when all governments meet at the May 2020 World Health Assembly in Geneva. In our 21st century, when business strategy and societal needs align help propel a healthier and more active longevity at the moment when there are, for the first time in history, more old than young, it’s reassuring to see a financial institution playing its part for all of our benefit.
