Gene Hackman’s death highlights the need for longevity planning, MIT researcher says

The current concept of retirement planning in the U.S. is “dangerously incomplete,” and the recent high-profile deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa illustrate why longevity planning needs a more central role in the conversation.

Joseph Coughlin, the director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab — which is focused on issues of aging and longevity — wrote about this issue in a recent column published by Forbes.

Hackman, a celebrated actor with a career spanning more than 50 years, suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s disease. In mid-February, he died at his home in New Mexico at the age of 95 from natural causes.

Authorities believe that Arakawa, his 65-year-old wife who had been serving as his primary caregiver, died several days before her husband due to a rare virus. Hackman’s storied career coupled with the unique circumstances of the deaths fueled rampant media coverage for weeks.

“This tragedy exposes the critical limitations of today’s retirement planning narrative,” Coughlin wrote in his column. “Society has constructed a storyline defining retirement planning around asset accumulation peppered with images of later life leisure while neglecting what might be best described as the infrastructure necessary to support healthy aging and caregiving.”

Longevity preparedness — planning for a lifetime that may run longer than one might expect — is a key piece missing from the broader puzzle, Coughlin said.

It is “the ongoing process of building redundant support systems, cultivating diverse social connections, implementing adaptive housing solutions, and arranging for care contingencies,” complemented by financial preparedness to support these goals, he explained.

The “adaptive housing” part of the equation includes the use of home modifications that are designed to make it easier for someone to live in their home as they grow older. This is in recognition of the diminishing physical abilities that naturally come with the aging process.

A recent survey noted that while older Americans still largely prefer to age in place in their own homes, safety and financial concerns often weigh down their pursuit of such goals. Renovation costs may be exorbitant, but they could still provide more value than congregate care settings or other long-term care facilities, the survey found.

But the circumstances of Hackman’s and Arakawa’s deaths show that financial security is likely only part of the story, Coughlin noted.

“The Hackman deaths show that the absence of redundant support systems can lead to isolation and tragedy, even with financial resources,” he wrote. “When Arakawa became ill, there was no backup system — no one to step in for her or her husband.”