Source: Fortune
Summary
A study by CenterWell, the health care services arm of Humana, found that nearly half (46%) of adults aged 62 and older reported lacking a sense of purpose, wholeness, and connection, despite living in an era of longer life expectancy and medical advancement. The study, which tracked over 6,600 adults between 2023 and 2025, identified 12 specific life factors that predict whether an older adult will age with dignity and resilience, with inner attitudes dominating. The findings challenge the assumption that physical health is the primary barometer of how well someone is aging.
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The numbers tell one story.
CenterWell’s study reveals a surprising disconnect between physical health and fulfillment in older adults. The research identifies 12 life factors that predict aging with dignity and resilience, with inner attitudes like self-contentment, optimism, and sense of purpose outranking physical capability and financial security. The study’s findings have significant implications for healthcare, highlighting the need for a more holistic approach to aging. The goal is to make fulfillment a routine, practical check-in alongside traditional measures like blood pressure and cholesterol.
The report’s more counterintuitive findings involve timing, with a significant dip in fulfillment after retirement. However, the study suggests that fulfillment is stable enough to measure, but it is not fixed, and can shift meaningfully within a year, especially during major life transitions like retirement.
The trend is not confined to older Americans, with a 2025 NBER working paper finding that young people, particularly Gen Z, are reporting far higher levels of despair than those in midlife or older age.
The answer to what can be done about it remains an open question, with reframing retirement as a major transition that requires support, and planning for it to prevent a fulfillment dip.
CenterWell’s commercial interests may color its conclusions, but the data makes a compelling case for a more holistic approach to aging.
Older adults are not living in psychological silos, and fulfillment reflects how emotional, social, and practical realities interact in everyday life.
