Who's building the Infrastructure for longer lives?

What do Germany's pension reforms, community caregiving in India, digital inclusion in Australia, and intergenerational connection have in common?

They're all signals of how societies are adapting to longer lives. We've brought together the latest insights, research, and Fellow updates in this month's New Longevity Newsletter. Grab a coffee ☕ and have a read.

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Each month, we share highlights on how innovations and changemakers are shaping society for New Longevity.

Redesigning the foundations of longer lives

Health affects wealth. Wealth affects health. Work shapes both, while caregiving influences them all. A new World Economic Forum report argues that longer lives are exposing how deeply interconnected these systems have always been. One year of caregiving, combined with the gender pay gap, can reduce a woman's retirement savings by 24%, illustrating how a single life event can have lifelong consequences. The report makes the case for a new approach, one that integrates health, work, care, and financial systems rather than operating in isolation. Read the full World Economic Forum report.

A new Civic Thriving report from History Co: Lab argues that many of today's biggest challenges, from declining mental health and weakening democracy to AI disruption and education reform, have been tackled in silos, despite sharing common solutions. Drawing on research with practitioners and young people, the report calls for systems that prioritize relationships, belonging, agency, and meaningful opportunities to contribute. Ashoka and Grandmother Collective's Thrive Together guide brings these ideas to life through practical intergenerational activities such as Story Circles, Grandmother Coaches, and Civic Saturdays, creating spaces for people of different generations to learn from one another, strengthen communities, and shape the future together. Together, the two resources reinforce a simple message: thriving is something we build with one another, not alone. Read the full Civic Thriving report and explore the Thrive Together guide.

As populations age and families become more geographically dispersed, governments are increasingly recognizing that healthy longevity depends on more than healthcare. In India's state of Kerala, new investments in caregiver training, community care, day-care centres, and neighbourhood support reflect a broader shift toward treating care as essential social infrastructure. The same shift is visible across Ashoka's Fellows network. In India, Anil Patilis strengthening family caregivers through training, economic empowerment, and policy advocacy. In the United States, Ai-jen Poo is advancing the rights of care workers and family caregivers while championing a stronger care economy. Read more in the BBC article.
Germany's proposed pension reforms, including a Swedish-style investment fund and gradually linking retirement age to life expectancy, reflect a growing reality facing ageing societies. Pension systems built for the 20th century are coming under increasing pressure as people live longer and the workforce shrinks. Around the world, governments are rethinking how retirement is funded, how long people work, and how to ensure financial security across longer lives. Ashoka Fellow Gautam Bhardwaj has been advancing this transition for years through pinBox Solutions, helping governments and financial institutions build inclusive digital pension systems for workers outside traditional employment. Read more in this Reuters report.
2. Work, technology, and contribution
Nearly one in four U.S. workers is now aged 55 or older, underscoring a workforce living and working longer. As careers extend, employers are being challenged to redesign workplaces for multigenerational teams, continuous learning, flexible career paths, and knowledge transfer. This shift is already taking shape across Ashoka's network. In the United States, Marc Freedman is creating new pathways for later-life contribution through intergenerational collaboration. In Italy, Riccarda Zezza is helping employers recognize caregiving and life transitions as valuable workplace skills. In Brazil, Sergio Serapião is reimagining work and entrepreneurship for longer lives. Together, they point to the same conclusion: the future of work is not about managing retirement; it's about enabling people to contribute throughout longer lives. Read more in HR Executive.
As societies become increasingly digital, access to technology is no longer simply about convenience; it is becoming a prerequisite for participating in work, learning, healthcare, volunteering, and community life. A landmark CSIRO report argues that digital technology can help people remain socially connected, economically active, and engaged throughout longer lives, but only if digital inclusion keeps pace. Otherwise, the digital divide risks becoming a longevity divide, excluding those without the skills, confidence, or access to participate fully. Ashoka Fellows are already advancing this transition. In Brazil, Gabriela Augustini is helping build more inclusive digital ecosystems that expand civic participation and digital rights, while in Colombia, Claudia Pinzón is equipping older adults with the skills and confidence to navigate an increasingly digital world. Together, they show that digital inclusion is ultimately about ensuring everyone can continue to contribute and thrive throughout longer lives. Read Lifelong Participation Through Digital Technology.
According to AARP's latest Longevity Economy Outlook, Americans aged 50 and older generated $12.5 trillion in economic activity in 2024 while contributing $1.2 trillion in unpaid caregiving and volunteering. The findings challenge one of society's biggest misconceptions: older adults are not simply beneficiaries of the economy; they are among its greatest contributors. Ashoka Fellows are demonstrating this shift in practice. In Portugal, Elena Parras Durán is helping create new opportunities for people over 55 to remain active contributors to their communities and local economies. In Chile, Ximena Abogabir is reimagining longevity by promoting active ageing, social participation, and purpose across longer lives. Read the full AARP Longevity Economy Outlook.

3. Fellows in Action

Ashoka Fellow Ai-jen Poo (United States) and Caring Across Generations have launched the 1Million Care Conversations campaign, a nationwide effort to engage families, caregivers, and communities in shaping the future of care. Rather than designing care systems for people, the initiative begins by listening to them, reinforcing a simple but powerful idea: building a better care system starts with understanding the experiences of those who rely on it every day. Share your care story.

Ashoka Fellow Anne Basting (United States) has launched 10 Million Moments of Joy and Connection, an ambitious campaign to train 25,000 caregivers and 1,000 trainers by 2031. By expanding Timeslips evidence-based creative care approach, the initiative aims to transform everyday experiences for people living with dementia, demonstrating that quality care depends not only on clinical support but also on creativity, dignity, and human connection. Learn how creative care is transforming dementia support.
Ashoka Fellow Sérgio Serapião (Brazil) and Laboo have assumed stewardship of Brazil's Fórum & Festival Longevidade, the country's leading longevity forum. Bringing together businesses, governments, researchers, and civil society, the platform will help shape national conversations on work, entrepreneurship, innovation, and public policy, strengthening the ecosystem needed for societies where longer lives become an opportunity rather than a challenge. Explore the Fórum & Festival Longevidade
Ashoka Fellow Arundhuti Gupta (India) is partnering with India's Ministry of Labour and Employment to help design the rollout of mentoring for the PM-VBRY scheme, which supports first-time job entrants. If implemented nationally, the collaboration could embed mentoring in public workforce policy, recognizing that longer, more complex careers require stronger support systems from the very beginning. Learn more about Mentor Together's work.
Ashoka Fellow Dixon Chibanda (Zimbabwe) continues to expand the reach of Friendship Bench, with its Washington, D.C. programme offering free mental health support through trained older volunteers known as "grandparents." The model demonstrates how empathy, lived experience, and intergenerational relationships can become powerful mental health infrastructure, reminding us that healing often begins with being heard. Read more in The Washington Post.
Ashoka Fellow Alexandre Silva (Brazil), in partnership with Fellow Maria de Lourdes Braz at favela Cidade de Deus, is demonstrating that compassionate care can begin within communities. Through Favela Compassiva, residents across four Rio de Janeiro favelas recently received practical training in wound care, catheter care, hygiene, and other essential caregiving skills. By equipping neighbours and families, not just healthcare professionals, to care for one another, the initiative is helping build community-based health systems rooted in dignity, resilience, and shared responsibility. Learn more.

"If there are no spaces where people share their purpose and needs, there can be no connection or understanding between generations." Speaking during a panel hosted by Fundación Cruz Roja Española, Casilda Heraso, Ashoka's Director of Venture & Co-Lead, Longevity, Spain reflected on one of the defining challenges of longer lives: creating spaces where generations can connect, learn from one another, and shape the future together.Watch the conversation in Spanish

Your Turn

Ashoka Brazil, through the Lab Nova Longevidade, has launched the new edition of the Mapping of the Social Innovation Ecosystem in Longevity in Brazil, an open call designed to identify, connect, and amplify initiatives transforming how the country responds to longer lives. Developed in partnership with Instituto Beja, RD Saúde,and Itaú Vivier Mais, the mapping brings together organizations, entrepreneurs, researchers, collectives, startups, and changemakers working across areas such as health, care, work, education, housing, culture, digital inclusion, and intergenerational connection. Beyond generating knowledge about the field, the initiative seeks to strengthen collaboration, visibility, and network activation around the future of longevity in Brazil. Interested in joining the ecosystem and contributing to this collective movement? Learn more and apply now.
Ashoka Colombia is convening innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and changemakers for the Month of Innovation for New Longevity this July. Through virtual and in-person events across Bogotá, Manizales, and Medellín, participants will explore some of the most promising innovations transforming health, care, lifelong contribution, intergenerational connection, and ageing. Interested in connecting with the people and ideas shaping the future of longevity? Learn more and join the conversation. Register now.
In 2026, we aim to support 10 new Ashoka Fellows advancing longevity by raising $1 million. Your contribution will help identify, elect, and scale these leaders, ensuring longer lives become better lives. Donate!