Life Over 50: The Top 3 Midlife Myths

It’s time to start thinking big and bold about the second half of our lives. We explain some of the top midlife myths.

Up until recently, there’s a question that most of us felt we had a ballpark answer to: How long will I live? If, for example, if our grandparents lived until they were in their 70s or 80s, then it seemed likely that we could expect the same. 

But thanks to modern medicine, the average life expectancy has been on the rise for decades now, and according to recent research published in Nature Aging, women now have as much as a 15% chance of making it to their 100th birthday. Also, according to a study by the North American Actuarial Journal, by the year 2039, women may have a life expectancy of 91.6 years — men around 86.1 years. 

So while our parents may have planned for closer to 20 years in retirement, we need to save and invest for closer to three or even four decades. Because the truth is that after we turn the calendar page on our first 50 years — our next 50 years could be right behind it. 

Deb Whitman, Chief Public Policy Officer at AARP and author of “The Second Fifty” busts the biggest myths about midlife and beyond. 

Myth #1: Turning Fifty Means Your Life Is Over

“We often think 50 is the end of our lives, or treat that birthday as being not the middle, but something to avoid,” Whitman says. “And there’s just so much that can happen to us later in life, good and sometimes bad. I want us to think big and bold and to understand that our lives can be very rich as we age.”

Thinking bold means we also need to be thinking about saving and investing for longer, because women often earn less — and invest less — than men do, which is incredibly dangerous for our financial futures, given that we live longer. For example, caregiving moms miss out on $300,000 in earnings over their lifetimes, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. “So we need to really look at care in our society, make sure that we treat it as the job it is, and make sure that people aren’t hurting themselves financially to help others,” Whitman says. 

Myth #2: Changing Careers In Midlife Is Difficult (or Even Impossible!) 

In the U.S. we’ve long had a “three stages” system of life: we go to school, we join the workforce, and then we retire… But what if that’s changing? Now that we’re living healthier longer lives, we can change the system — there’s nothing stopping us from learning new skills and changing careers in midlife (without an enormous financial burden). 

“Technology is changing fast and we’re going to continue to need to learn throughout our lives,” Whitman says. “Whether you use lifelong learning for work, or just to keep yourself sharp and engaged.” She builds on the idea of “Encore Careers” coined by the founder and Co-CEO of CoGenerate, Marc Freedman which is defined as “a second vocation beginning in the latter half of one’s life.”

“So the idea is that you could tap your Social Security funds for up to 18 months if you are enrolled in full-time education,” Whitman says. “And it actually grows the economy because people are more productive if they’re able to continue learning, so it costs almost nothing.”

Myth #3: If Older People Continue To Work Longer, It Will Hurt The Younger Generation

“We often think that there’s a zero-sum game out there that if more older people work that will take jobs away from younger people, when in the economics profession, we know that the more workers you have, the faster the economy grows and there’s more jobs for everyone,” Whitman says.

Essentially, the “silver tsunami” is here, and we need to start taking our aging population more seriously — and we need to better understand how critical they are to keep the economy thriving.

“Older people are the fastest growing natural resource that we have. And if we can take advantage of this wealth of talent and wisdom, we can have a better society, not just as a whole, but for each of us as individuals,” Whitman says.

Bottom Line: Midlife Is Just The Beginning

If you’ve been planning for a 20-year retirement, it’s time to think bigger. A shift in our longevity isn’t just reshaping individual financial planning — it’s transforming societal norms and expectations around aging, retirement, and career trajectories. Our years after 50 are no longer a “winding down,” but rather a chance to build momentum for an entirely new chapter.

More On HerMoney:

More money news when you need it! Get the latest and greatest updates on all things investing, budgeting, and making money. Subscribe to the HerMoney newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe!