**5.3 Societal aspects**

There is an urgent need to assess the key characteristics of very old individuals, especially centenarians, across countries to better serve these populations and ensure a high quality of life in their remaining years [1, 2]. There is a requirement for nursing care at home or hospital. Increasing care home bed capacity could reduce dependence on hospital care at the end of life [4, 59].

The payment of pension and social security benefits to a growing number of very old subjects for several decades is a heavy financial challenge for any society. With extended longevity, there is an increasing number of subjects treated for at least three different diseases with at least three different treatments [15]. This will have a significant financial impact for the society (**Figure 18**). However, this situation may not be applicable to all centenarians since some have managed to avoid, postpone, or overcome several important age-related diseases and disabilities.

**Figure 18.** *Centenarians expose societies to financial challenges (Picture downloaded from the internet "Google Images").*
