S. Jay Olshansky1,2, Bradley Willcox3, Kirk Ashburn2, Jeffrey Stukey4 and Craig Willcox5 1School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA 2Wealthspan Financial Partners, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506, USA 3Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA 4Investment Advisor, Wealthspan Investment Management, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506, USA 5Professor of Public Health and Gerontology, Okinawa International University, Urasoe City, Okinawa 901-2122, Japan Correspondence: sjayouic.edu

Forthcoming advances in geroscience will influence the health span of current and future generations and generate both challenges and opportunities for those approaching or reaching retirement ages. The resulting changes in the life course will influence those reaching stages in life that are commonly associated with retirement. How people plan for that later phase of life is critical—especially given that current approaches to planning are either nonexistent or outdated. In this review, we show how advances in applied genetics can yield valuable information for individuals that are facing the challenges and opportunities that will accompany anticipated advances in geroscience and their unique influence on the life span and health span of current and future generations.