Manulife and John Hancock partner with MIT
John Hancock and its parent company Manulife announced a five-year, multimillion-dollar research collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab to help improve the quality of life for the aging population and their loved ones.
Over the next five years, Manulife, John Hancock and the MIT AgeLab will collaborate to research the future of longevity innovation, developing research, thought leadership, and workshops with the goal of driving actionable insights for the business community, policymakers, and individuals and their families.
This research will explore the critical tenets of longevity in the United States and hopes to develop a first-of-its-kind longevity preparedness index, to be produced annually over an initial five-year period. The index will measure the readiness of Americans from every generation to live a longer, healthier, and better life; and provide data-driven insights for maximizing financial planning, health and wellness habits, work and retirement transition planning, housing choices, end-of-life planning, and technological advances that support critical health and financial needs at each step of the aging process. Research on the first annual index will begin in the spring of 2024. The index is expected to expand to include Canada as the collaboration evolves.
MIT AgeLab founder and director Dr. Joseph Coughlin will lead this work with a team of social and data scientists along with experts outside of MIT. In addition to the index, the group will host several workshops throughout the year to engage in discussions and activations around longevity, generational dynamics, new technology, and behavioral insurance.
“The fastest-growing age cohort in the world is people over 85. As we continue to see people live longer lives, it is crucial that we gain new insight into how we can make longer lives synonymous with better and healthier lives. We fundamentally believe in helping make this a reality and know that this ambition does not start and end within the walls of our business. That’s why we’re committed to collaborating with leaders in the space, like the MIT AgeLab, to help provide others—from policymakers to industry leaders to healthcare advocates—with critical learnings that can scale our shared mission to drive better health and wealth outcomes.” – Brooks Tingle, president and CEO, John Hancock.
“My research team is excited to embark on this research collaboration with Manulife/John Hancock. The spirit of MIT is to think and do. We want not only to identify the many different dimensions of what it takes to live longer, better; but also to measure the preparedness of a nation to live 100 good years. It is our shared objective that our work will educate and motivate people to do what it takes for themselves, their families, and their communities—to turn a longer life into a better life for all.” – Dr. Joseph Coughlin.
