Snowbirds and Water Coolers: How Aging Populations Can Drive Economic Growth

This article focuses on how private industry can make simple, yet effective changes to transform aging populations into important economic participants. Through three case studies—of BMW, CVS, and Tesco—this essay details how these businesses are gaining a competitive edge by integrating aging populations into their business models, both as customers and as productive employees. This essay argues that private industry can play a leading role for public policy changes that will enable aging populations to drive economic growth. With traditional retirement and pension systems operating at unsustainable models, it is imperative that the private sector lead the drive to find ways to keep our aging populations involved and active in economic life. Public policy, furthermore, should learn from private industry to create models of integration for aging populations.