And even though other countries are also working to find solutions to make pensions and retirement income last longer, the U.S. appears to be reversing earlier progress—and perhaps  in the process making the need for such solutions less urgent.

The study, by Imperial College London and the World Health Organization, projects that South Korean women will have the longest life expectancy from birth by 2030, at 90 years old, and that the longevity gap between men and women will start to close in most countries.

In descending order of life expectancy after South Korea, the study places France next, followed by Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, the U.K. … and finally the U.S.

Yes, that's the good old U.S. of A., trailing behind other countries—and according to the report, "perform[ing] poorly and … on course to have the lowest life expectancy of rich countries by 2030."

It never made the top 5, despite our much-vaunted progress in public health over the years, and barely even made the top 10.

The report cites Professor Majid Ezzati saying, "[Society in the U.S. is] very unequal to an extent the whole national performance is affected—it is the only country without universal health insurance." He adds, "And it is the first country that has stopped growing taller, which shows something about early life nutrition."

The study attributed much of the increases to "improvements for the over-65s, rather than reductions in deaths during childhood."

It also assumes countries to continue along their current path. A catastrophe such as an epidemic, or a breakthrough in vaccines, could substantially alter the projections.

In the report, Ezzati summarizes the report's data thus: "Places that perform well do so by investing in their health system and making sure it reaches everyone."