diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c8613022..713fc2b4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- `riverpgxv5` driver: `Hijack()` the underlying listener connection as soon as it is acquired from the `pgxpool.Pool` in order to prevent the pool from automatically closing it after it reaches its max age. A max lifetime makes sense in the context of a pool with many conns, but a long-lived listener does not need a max lifetime as long as it can ensure the conn remains healthy. [PR #661](https://github.com/riverqueue/river/pull/661).
+
 ## [0.13.0] - 2024-10-07
 
 ⚠️ Version 0.13.0 removes the original advisory lock based unique jobs implementation that was deprecated in v0.12.0. See details in the note below or the v0.12.0 release notes.
diff --git a/riverdriver/riverpgxv5/river_pgx_v5_driver.go b/riverdriver/riverpgxv5/river_pgx_v5_driver.go
index dcad104c..29292b3a 100644
--- a/riverdriver/riverpgxv5/river_pgx_v5_driver.go
+++ b/riverdriver/riverpgxv5/river_pgx_v5_driver.go
@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@ func (t *ExecutorTx) Rollback(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 type Listener struct {
-	conn   *pgxpool.Conn
+	conn   *pgx.Conn
 	dbPool *pgxpool.Pool
 	prefix string
 	mu     sync.Mutex
@@ -753,11 +753,10 @@ func (l *Listener) Close(ctx context.Context) error {
 	// connection back into rotation, but in case a Listen was invoked without a
 	// subsequent Unlisten on the same topic, close the connection explicitly to
 	// guarantee no other caller will receive a partially tainted connection.
-	err := l.conn.Conn().Close(ctx)
+	err := l.conn.Close(ctx)
 
 	// Even in the event of an error, make sure conn is set back to nil so that
 	// the listener can be reused.
-	l.conn.Release()
 	l.conn = nil
 
 	return err
@@ -771,19 +770,22 @@ func (l *Listener) Connect(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return errors.New("connection already established")
 	}
 
-	conn, err := l.dbPool.Acquire(ctx)
+	poolConn, err := l.dbPool.Acquire(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
 	var schema string
-	if err := conn.QueryRow(ctx, "SELECT current_schema();").Scan(&schema); err != nil {
-		conn.Release()
+	if err := poolConn.QueryRow(ctx, "SELECT current_schema();").Scan(&schema); err != nil {
+		poolConn.Release()
 		return err
 	}
 
 	l.prefix = schema + "."
-	l.conn = conn
+	// Assume full ownership of the conn so that it doesn't get released back to
+	// the pool or auto-closed by the pool.
+	l.conn = poolConn.Hijack()
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -814,7 +816,7 @@ func (l *Listener) WaitForNotification(ctx context.Context) (*riverdriver.Notifi
 	l.mu.Lock()
 	defer l.mu.Unlock()
 
-	notification, err := l.conn.Conn().WaitForNotification(ctx)
+	notification, err := l.conn.WaitForNotification(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}