Every day, life expectancy in the most developed countries (USA, Europe and Japan) grows by 5 and a half hours: to reveal it is one studio of the French insurance group Axa, which demonstrates how the phenomenon is too often underestimated, and although positive for the duration of our existence, certainly much less so for the correct management of social security.
Therefore, according to Axa's calculations, in Western countries – obviously including Italy – half of the children born today could live more than 100 years: we will therefore be almost immortal, but this will create more than one headache for the state coffers. Unless the so-called Methuselah syndrome (who according to the Bible lived 969 years) automatically implies a significant increase in the working age.
“It's like living 30-hour days”, explains Michael Bret, director of the Axa Study Centre. Fascinating thesis, which essentially means living 84 more days each year, or just under fifteen months in total. However, the phenomenon is temporary (if it were continuous, it would actually lead to immortality…): life expectancy is calculated on the basis of today's socio-economic and health parameters, which could change in the future. Wars, epidemics, famines, as happened not too long ago in 30s Ukraine (when the average age of death dropped from 43 to less than 10!), could still cause us to reverse course.
