Plain common sense on the relationships between wealth, health and longevity is, sadly, hard to find in the mainstream media. Here is some from the Financial Times: "The older segment of the population does consume a high share of resources simply because of the higher probability of disease and death with advancing age. But this does not hold for the individual patient: for the same condition, older patients use less healthcare than younger ones. The highest costs occur in the 12 to 18 months prior to death, and this is true at any age. What is expensive is the cost of dying, not the cost of ageing. ... Put simply; health, plus longevity, generates wealth." Live healthily for longer and you can work and save for longer. Mandatory retirement forced by law is deeply unethical, as are wealth transfer schemes like social security.

Link: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/365c78b4-1b4e-11da-a117-00000e2511c8.html