How to live to be 100

A fascinating TED talk by Dan Buettner, National Geographic writer and explorer. Working with a team Dan is studying the world's longest-lived peoples, distilling their secrets into a single plan for health and long life. In this 2009 talk he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits that keep them spry past age 100.

280,000 Britons will be centenarians by 2050

When I give talks on the pluses of being 50+ I often refer to the rather staggering fact that when the Queen came to the throne in 1953 she sent out 200 telegrams to centenarians. In 2009 that figure was closer to 11,000. Research just published now suggests that more than 280,000 of us will reach that age by 2050. Even hope for me then!

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions predict that the number of 100-year-olds will double to 22,000 by 2020, double again by 2030 and hit 280,000 in 2050.

They will be living for more than a century thanks to improved diets, medical advances and a move away from manual labour.

While those currently under the age of 60 may be looking forward to a lengthy retirement, the figures raise fears over how the pubic purse will cope.

Meeting the cost of public sector workers' pensions is already imposing a punishing burden on the taxpayer.Separately, company pension schemes are being ripped up, leaving workers vulnerable to poverty in old age. The net effect is that millions of Britons will have to work well into their sixties and beyond if they are to maintain a decent standard of living.

But on a positive note, the older generation may also begin to wield more cultural and political power as they acquire proportionally more votes and financial muscle.

Work and Pensions Minister Lord McKenzie said: 'It is clear that in the coming years an older society offers great opportunities as well as challenges.

'Opportunities for those in retirement to continue working, learning and contributing to society, but challenges around how best to support this group. The biggest changes to pensions for a generation will mean that millions of people will be saving for their retirement.'

This photo amused me - that's all..

Japan's growing group of centenarians

In the Rainbow Years, we quote the fact that in Coronation Year 1953 the Queen sent out 200 telegrams to centenarians whereas in 2008 there were over 10,000 sent out. The equivalent in Japan is sending out special silver cups on September 15, a holiday designated Respect for the Aged Day. year. The cost varies but it is approximately about £55 apiece, including a wooden presentation box. Last year 19,769 people reached triple figures in the world's most rapidly ageing country, compared with only 153 in 1963, the year when the cups were first presented. The G'ment is now about to cut the size of the cups to save money as the numbers of centenarians grow each year.

The Japanese are the world's longest-lived people, a phenomenon experts have attributed to a range of factors, including diet and widely available health care. There are 36,436 people aged over 100 in a population of 127.8 million.

Telegrams from the Queen

When the Queen ascended her throne in 1953 she sent out 200 telegrams to centenarians. In 2008 12,000 people received their telegrams and by 2050 we can expect 250,000 new centenarians each year! That's a lot of telegrams! We also know that one in four babies born today could live to be 100.