The global quest to save retirement

SPEND enough time around retirement experts, and the prospect of living longer starts sounding more like a threat than an opportunity.

After all, increasing longevity is helping to bankrupt pension plans, erode Social Security's finances and make it so hard for individuals to choose a path towards a well-funded retirement that they may as well be playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Yet, a long life can be a tremendous blessing. On July 4, my grandfather died after 90 action-packed years. He lived 14 years longer than the current US male life expectancy and 34 years longer than the average man was living the year he was born.

He used those years well. After teaching and coaching into his late sixties, he spent his retirement volunteering, organising dinner outings and golfing as if it was his job. Pensions and Social S…