The economic case for investing in healthy aging: Lessons from the United States

As the world undergoes one of the most profound demographic shifts in history, societies are confronted with a once-in-a-generation choice: adapt and reimagine systems to support longevity for all or risk stagnation with outdated structures.

As adults age, they run a higher risk of physical challenges, such as becoming seriously injured in a fall, and emotional challenges, such as becoming isolated or lacking societal participation. While older adults bring valuable wisdom and life experience to professional and personal settings, society often lacks the structures or opportunities that allow them to make these contributions.¹Andrew Scott and Peter Piot, “The Longevity Dividend,” Finance & Development Magazine, June 2025. Addressing these physical and emotional challenges, whether at a city, state, or country level, has often been considered financially unfeasible.

However, previous research by the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) demonstrated that improving the quality of life for older adults and achieving economic growth are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, initiatives that improve healthy aging often result in social and economic benefits.²See also, “The promise of longevity for human health and prosperity," McKinsey Health Institute and Future Investment Initiative Institute, October 31, 2024. These findings underscore the importance of promoting healthy aging through disease prevention, social inclusion, and support for a healthy lifestyle, as these strategies improve quality of life for older adults and generate economic benefits.³Vincenza Gianfredi et al., “Aging, longevity, and healthy aging: The public health approach,” Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 2025, Volume 37, Number 125.

Building on this research, MHI examined 18 interventions across eight avenues (Table 1) that address some of the most common physical and social challenges facing older adults in the United States, with the goal of promoting healthy aging. We assessed the ROI, impact, and feasibility of seven of eight avenues for investing in healthy aging, projected to the year 2030⁴We did not evaluate ROI for the “Invest in science” avenue due to its long-term nature, uncertain impact, and the inherent challenges in quantifying future scientific progress. (see sidebar, “Methodology”). In this publication, we present a set of interventions aimed at improving outcomes for older adults. We examine the value generated by those interventions that are already in place and assess the potential impact of innovative approaches being considered for future expansion.

The economic case for investing in healthy aging

To understand the impact of investing in healthy aging, MHI developed a model to assess the potential ROI across a variety of healthy aging interventions in the United States (selected as the research focus because of its emphasis on healthy aging initiatives), with the goal of providing insights on what worked to stakeholders in other countries. Overall, the analysis revealed that for every $1 invested in healthy aging, $3 may be returned to society via economic and healthcare benefits.

More than 30 US states have developed or are developing aging-specific strategic plans (for example, multisectoral plans, master plans, et cetera).⁵“Multisector plan for aging activity across states,” Multisector Plan for Aging, accessed August 2025. These plans often include interventions across sectors aimed at enhancing the quality of life for older adults, reflecting a strong commitment to preparing communities for shifting demographics. Analyzing these interventions can help scale the ones that are evidence-based and fiscally responsible.⁶The methodologies utilized in this study can be adapted to other countries, although modifications may be necessary to account for different contexts. For instance, healthcare payment models vary globally—while healthcare costs for older adults in the US are typically covered by the government (via federal Medicare or state Medicaid), other countries may operate on an out-of-pocket payment system or have a single payor system. Factors like these necessitate tailoring the methodologies in this study when analyzing the economic case for investing in healthy aging in other regions and contexts.

What is a ‘healthy aging intervention’?

MHI outlined a framework to define the world of healthy aging (Exhibit 1), divided into eight avenues, ranging from supporting societal participation and strengthening healthcare to enhancing public safety and providing technology.⁷These avenues were developed after analyzing several healthy aging frameworks, including International Longevity Center (UK), WHO Age-Friendly Cities Framework, AARP Domains of Livability, ASEAN Active Aging Index, Singaporean Action Plan for Successful Aging, European Parliament Aging Policies, Missouri Master Plan on Aging, Utah Master Plan on Aging, North Carolina Master Plan on Aging, New York Master Plan on Aging, and Ohio State Plan on Aging. Within each avenue, a series of interventions (for example, programs, subsidies, and training) can be analyzed; when implemented together, the interventions can support aging populations holistically. This analysis specifically evaluated interventions categorized under seven of the eight avenues (17 interventions in total).

Healthy aging interventions result in positive ROI

Each of the analyzed healthy aging interventions in this model yielded a positive ROI and generated economic value, indicating that investment in these areas may be worthwhile (Exhibit 2). Our analysis showed 1.0 to 24.0 times ROI for the individual interventions and 1.5 times (transportation) to 9.6 times (public safety) ROI for the avenues for investment, with a median of 3.0 times ROI, suggesting that investment in many of the varied aspects of healthy aging will likely create positive returns for the country through increased economic growth and reduced healthcare spend.

Given that one in six people in the world will be aged 60 or over by 2030, more countries are likely to examine the impact and feasibility of these interventions and continue to refine them.⁸“Ageing and health,” World Health Organization, October 1, 2024. Thus, there is strong latent potential for many of the interventions and other locally relevant interventions within the broader avenues.

Healthy aging interventions yield substantial qualitative impact

In addition to delivering positive financial results, each intervention analyzed has the potential to create meaningful qualitative benefits for society (Table 2), supporting quality of life, life satisfaction, familial interconnectedness, community cohesion, and equity. While placing a numerical value on any of these categories is methodologically and ethically complex, all five are essential components of a holistic approach to healthy aging. Notably, prior MHI research found that meaningful social relationships are among the strongest predictors of health and happiness in old age.⁹“Aging with purpose: Why meaningful engagement with society matters,” McKinsey Health Institute, October 23, 2023. Furthermore, investing in intangible benefits for older adults—such as equity and quality of life—allows them to thrive and contribute meaningfully to their communities, enriching the fabric of society.

Given that these qualitative factors can have substantial effects on health outcomes for older adults, it is important to consider them alongside economic growth when evaluating the impact of healthy aging interventions.

Case studies on select interventions

Several healthy aging interventions analyzed in this publication have been trialed internationally and demonstrated notable results. With additional investment from the public, social, and private sectors, these interventions show strong promise to continue improving lives and livelihoods.

The success of healthy aging investments lies in a cross-sectoral ecosystem approach

The interventions analyzed in this publication necessitate a cross-sectoral approach. While the public sector certainly has a role to play, numerous other stakeholders have the opportunity to initiate, develop, and collaborate to implement a variety of healthy aging initiatives. Society can only achieve economic growth from healthy aging investments and become truly age-inclusive through a multistakeholder effort. The two examples below demonstrate the ecosystem-level approach required to develop and implement effective interventions (Exhibit 3).

Ecosystem: Invest in science

Sample intervention: Expand research into common aging pathways that have the potential to treat multiple conditions

Academia: Promote research for common aging pathways (biological mechanisms that universally influence health and longevity) through novel funding and grant opportunities for researchers and labs focused on aging topics

Government agencies: Create supportive policies and funding opportunities that encourage research on common aging pathways

Pharmaceutical companies: Provide capital, infrastructure, and stability for large-scale drug development projects alongside life sciences investors

Technology firms: Streamline drug discovery for common aging pathways with a focus on AI and data analytics through a partnership with academia and the private sector

Ecosystem: Support societal participation

Sample intervention: Tackle ageism by creating an age-inclusive work environment

Employers: Implement approaches within the workplace to drive accountability (for example, audit age-inclusive practices, incorporate hiring goals) and strengthen age-inclusive practices (for example, flexible work hours, tailored benefits packages, and career development opportunities)

Not-for-profits: Disseminate resources on how to combat ageism in the workplace

Governments: Combat ageism proactively by implementing policies and making public commitments in partnership with the private sector and civil society

Exhibit 3

There are key opportunities for involvement within the ecosystem approach (nonexhaustive) for both the public and private sectors.

Public sector

The public sector (including state and local organizations) can play an important role in setting the tone for society to focus on the issue of healthy aging and align stakeholder incentives through strategic programmatic planning. This can include the following:

• Understanding the current state of holistic health outcomes for the older adult population in the state today, with data analytics to identify key areas for improvement.
• Developing a strategic cross-sectoral plan on aging to address key areas of need for older adults, with a focus on specific populations (for example, rural) or evaluating and assessing existing plans using an ROI-to-value-generation lens.
• Building performance excellence mechanisms to track outcomes of state plans to ensure they are generating value.
• Designing programs with key partners (for example, private sector players, community organizations) and investing in initial pilots to gather stakeholder buy-in.
• Scaling programs with adequate marketing and operational support to inform necessary constituents and deliver with high impact.
• Utilizing novel methodologies to socialize the impact of state actions on aging and build cross-sectoral partnerships to fund key initiatives/programs.

Private sector

The private sector has an underutilized, influential role to play in solving the unmet needs of older adults across several industries. In the United States alone, adults aged 70 and older hold 30 percent of the country’s wealth, creating a key opportunity for the private sector to develop products and services for their specific demographic needs.¹⁰Alexandre Tanzi, “Americans over 70 hold 30% of the country’s wealth,” Bloomberg, December 19, 2023. Below are a few examples of how select industries may prepare and respond to the shifting demographics:

• Consumer companies understand the specific needs of older adult consumers through intentional and detailed customer analysis and segmentation (for example, they avoid treating the entire 65-plus population as homogenous in their needs and wants) and design offerings that directly address their expressed pain points. They also identify channel partnerships that help relevant products and services reach a target audience of older adults (for example, independent-living communities or senior centers) and include older adults in advertising and marketing campaigns (for example, promoting representation and reducing stigma).
• Healthcare providers invest in wrap-around services¹¹Wrap-around services refer to comprehensive, holistic support that goes beyond traditional medical care to address a patient’s broader social, behavioral, and day-to-day needs (for example, nutrition and wellness programs, behavioral health services, transportation). to ensure the success of a patient’s care journey and to reduce episodes of emergency care and acute challenges (for example, medication adherence and transportation to appointments). They also train employees to have a thorough understanding of local public and private programs that can support patient health and wellness needs beyond clinical care (for example, social programs, physical activity programs) and partner with local community education services (for example, fall prevention programs) to host informational events for older patients so they can better support themselves at home.
• Payors develop programs that prioritize follow-up care after particular procedures and offer wrap-around care to holistically support health outcomes and avoid recurring emergency treatments. Their additional services include the following:
• supporting community-based programs that connect patients with key services such as transportation, meal delivery, and more
• working with providers to develop care coordination solutions (for example, case managers, digital portals) to ensure older adults have integrated care plans and are aware of them
• providing reimbursement, training, and support for caregivers who play an integral role in supplying quality care for older adults


• Employers¹²Previous MHI research revealed that 19 to 25 percent of older adults do not work but want to find opportunities to work. See “Age is just a number: How older adults view healthy aging,” McKinsey Health Institute, May 22, 2023. can conduct inclusivity trainings to limit age bias in the workplace and provide additional technical training for older employees who want to continuously upskill. They can also develop mentorship programs for employees of varying ages so they can learn from one another and provide flexible working models for older employees who may want to contribute but require adaptations.

Given the world’s changing demographics, society stands at an inflection point where the aging paradigm can be transformed from a societal burden to a dynamic opportunity for economic and social growth.¹³Andrew J. Scott, “The longevity economy,” The Lancet Healthy Longevity, December 2021, Volume 2, Issue 12. By investing in economically sound, cross-sectoral, collaborative interventions that holistically address older adults’ well-being, society can create a future in which healthy aging is accessible and sustainable for all.