World expert on ageing Alexandre Kalache: 'We are going to age differently. We are starting to see role models who are active, demanding, who will want to work longer or will want more leisure or will want to take part in society and expect that people will listen to their voices. Its exciting because its a new stage of human development.'

Alexandre Kalache is a world expert on ageing. With average life expectancy now above 80, he discusses what Australia should do to prepare for the longevity revolution.

ALEXANDRE Kalache's departure from his job as the World Health Organisation's Director of Ageing in 2007 was a moment of bitter irony. In October of that year he turned 62, and despite being fit and energetic with years of good work still ahead of him, he was forced by the organisation to retire.

It is policies such as this that, paradoxically, represent the central theme of Kalache's life work: that the retirement structure used by most developed countries was conceived in the 19th century and has ceased to be relevant in the 21st century. It is time for societies to adapt to what he calls the "longevity revolution".

When Kalache was born in 1945, life expectancy in his native Brazil was 43; now the average Brazilian can expect to live to 75. Kalache describes this leap in life expectancy in such a short time (mirrored in developed countries including Australia) as "the greatest societal achievement of the 20th century - something to celebrate".

Advertisement: Story continues below

But he also warns that "it threatens to become the greatest challenge for the 21st century if we don't have the right policies''.

The numbers explain the challenge: by 2050, the number of people aged over 60 will double to more than 2 billion, or 22 per cent of the global population. With life expectancy in more than 20 developed countries already above 80, the economic and social impact on societies of an increasingly healthy ageing populace are obvious. For example, in Australia the cost of aged care is expected to double by 2050.

Politically, it also brings opportunities for governments to target the so-called "grey vote" - evidenced in the Gillard government's much-trumpeted aged-care announcement on April 20.

For his part, retirement has been a productive time for Kalache. His various positions include being president of the International Longevity Centre in Brazil, a senior adviser on global ageing at the New York Academy of Medicine, and a Resident Thinker on Ageing for the government of South Australia, where he is currently visiting.

See more here:
The new age of old age