John Hancock, MIT Age Lab Release Longevity Assessment Tool

John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab announced Tuesday the launch of an assessment tool to measure longevity preparedness. The tool, which resulted from a five-year research collaboration, is meant to help pre-retirees assess their planning and to help facilitate discussions with financial professionals.

The site includes an online questionnaire used to suggest potential actions, based on a participant’s preparedness for eight aspects of longevity: health; finance; planning for potential caregiving needs; home accessibility; sense of community; engagement with daily activities; ability to adjust to life transitions; and social connection.

In a study published in October 2025 using a similar questionnaire, participants scored an average of 60 out of a possible 100. On average, those surveyed scored highest in sense of community (70) and social connection (69) and scored lowest in health and home accessibility (both 56).

“Longevity isn’t just about more years lived; it’s about how well prepared we are to live them,” said Brooks Tingle, John Hancock’s president and CEO, in a statement. “Giving people access to their own longevity preparedness scores sparks self-reflection, and ideally action, for a better future.”

The study found that respondents who were working with a financial adviser at the time scored an average of 65, higher than the 60 scored by those who had previously worked with financial professionals and 58 for those who had never met with an adviser. The group working with financial advisers scored higher averages in all categories, showing the biggest differences in finance (73 with advisers, 60 without), social connection (77 vs. 67) and planning for potential care (49 vs. 39).

John Hancock and MIT AgeLab will conduct annual surveys of longevity preparedness over the next four years.