Lessons from the 90+ Generation

Inspired by the landmark “90+ Study”

In a quiet enclave of Southern California, tucked within the gates of Laguna Woods, a community of elders is reshaping everything we thought we knew about aging. Their lives are not just long, they are meaningful, nuanced, and filled with lessons that feel more urgent than ever.

When 60 Minutes first introduced the world to these residents in its 2014 segment “Living to 90 and Beyond,” what emerged was more than a health story. It was a story of legacy, one that continues to echo. At the heart of the segment was Dr. Claudia Kawas, a neurologist at UC Irvine, who began studying residents of what was then Leisure World decades ago. Through her groundbreaking research, now widely known as The 90+ Study, she set out not to answer how we can live longer, but how we can live well into our nineties and beyond.

The study began in the 1980s when more than 14,000 residents completed detailed lifestyle questionnaires. Years later, Dr. Kawas and her team began tracking over 1,600 of those individuals, conducting biannual check-ins that measured cognitive function, physical movement, and social habits. The findings challenged long-held assumptions and introduced a quietly radical idea: that living a meaningful, connected, and curious life might matter more than perfect health or rigid discipline. Among the most surprising discoveries was that exercise, though modest, made a measurable difference. Just fifteen minutes of walking a day significantly improved life expectancy. Social connection also emerged as a decisive protective factor; book clubs, bridge games, and shared meals weren’t just pastimes, they were lifelines. Even moderate alcohol and caffeine consumption were linked with longevity. And contrary to popular belief, individuals who were slightly overweight in earlier years often lived longer than their underweight peers. Meanwhile, vitamins and supplements, often viewed as insurance policies for aging, showed little evidence of contributing to a longer life.

In 2020, 60 Minutes returned to Dr. Kawas and her team to revisit the study and its participants. What they found was not only a community still living fully, but also a glimpse into our collective future. Dr. Kawas shared a striking insight: half of the children born today are expected to live to 104. This projection wasn’t fantasy; it was rooted in the latest scientific models and demographic data. If that proves true, it reframes everything. Our task will no longer be just adding years to our lives, but adding life to our years. The study’s continued findings on memory and cognition have been equally eye-opening. Some participants with brains showing significant Alzheimer’s pathology had no symptoms at all, while others with clear scans experienced memory decline. This suggests that the human experience of aging is shaped as much by engagement, lifestyle, and community as it is by biology.

At Community Icons Magazine, we often say that success is not measured by what you accumulate, but by how you live, who you impact, and how deeply you remain connected to your purpose. The 90+ generation embodies this truth. They are not chasing youth. They are not resisting age. They are demonstrating what it looks like to embrace life entirely on their terms. They have taught us that movement doesn’t need to be fast to be effective. That purpose doesn’t disappear with time. That community is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. And that aging doesn’t strip us of our value. It refines it.

The 90+ Study is still ongoing. New data is being collected. New insights continue to emerge. But its greatest legacy may already be written, not in charts or graphs, but in the way these individuals live. They rise slowly, but with intent. They speak carefully, but with clarity. They build each day with a kind of reverence that comes only from having seen many, many before it. They remind us that aging is not a detour from life. It is life. Earned, weathered, and worthy of celebration.

We extend our deepest gratitude to 60 Minutes for capturing these stories with the care and dignity they deserve, and to Dr. Kawas and the participants of The 90+ Study for offering us a glimpse into a future we all have the potential to shape, not just with science, but with soul.

This article was inspired in part by the 60 Minutes segments “Living to 90 and Beyond” (2014) and its 2020 follow-up, produced by CBS News and featuring Dr. Claudia Kawas and the 90+ Study team at UC Irvine.