In the comedy world alone, one thinks of George Burns (1896–1996), Dick Van Dyke (1925–), and Mel Gibson (1956–) Or, on the more serious side, British documentary presenter David Attenborough (1926–).

Our World in Data tells us that, overall, people are indeed living longer:

In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years…

The large reduction in child mortality has played an important role in increasing life expectancy. But life expectancy has increased at all ages. Infants, children, adults, and the elderly are all less likely to die than in the past, and death is being delayed.

Saloni Dattani, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Hannah Ritchie, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, and Max Roser (2023) – “Life Expectancy” Published online at OurWorldinData.org.

The trend is likely due to better nutrition and health care.

In the United States, the change plays out as a boom in centenarians. The population of persons aged 100 or more grew by 50% between 2010 and 2020:

In 2020, centenarians were overwhelmingly female at 78.8%. This was a slight decline from 2010, when centenarians were 82.8% female.

Between 2010 and 2020, the male centenarian population grew by 85.3% versus a 42.9% increase for female centenarians.

Census September 22, 2025

So the raucous birthday song, “We hope you live to be a 100!” is actually happening for more people. And the trend is likely to spread. So don’t overlook the possibility that it could be you.

There is no shortage of advice about how to manage old age generally (with no promise that you will make the big three digits if you follow it).

First and foremost, start planning earlier, The Washington Post advises, for example, that “Researchers increasingly believe the 40s, 50s and 60s represent a critical window for protecting cognitive health later in life”:

Last year, a large study in JAMA Network Open found that people who remained physically active during midlife had a 40 to 45 percent lower risk of dementia later in life. A meta-analysis of more than 3 million people published in April in PLOS One found that the greatest reductions in dementia risk came from how people behaved in midlife and were associated with seven to eight hours of sleep, at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week, and fewer than eight sedentary hours a day.

Ariana Eunjung Cha “The midlife habits that could make or break your brain health long-term,” June 11, 2026

These days, we should not assume we will never get there. The big question is, in what shape will we be?