Health, workplace design and the older worker
World's first Commissioner for older people
Don't sound old before your time
Who on earth is Kathleen Casey-Kirschling?
At about this time of year we are already looking at our list of New Year’s resolutions and wondering why they didn’t last very long – again! Still, there’s always next year!
However this year, in certain respects, events have already overtaken us and we really can’t afford to delay and prevaricate any longer when it comes to our personal finances. Following many years of feast, fuelled largely by spending more than we can afford, this year looks like when it’s all going to come home to roost, starting in the USA but spreading to here and elsewhere rather like a forest fire. The economy is taking a downturn with, in certain quarters, strong fears of recession. Money is going to be very tight while, at the same time, there looms the spectre of higher inflation with increased fuel costs, food prices and the cost of imports as the pound weakens. There will be some difficult choices – higher interest costs to dampen inflation or lower interest costs to keep the economy afloat?
Luckily, that is not our decision and we’ll have to take the rough with the smooth. But what we can do is to get our own house in order, both for the short term and the long term, and the sooner we do it the better. We may not be able to adjust our income very much but what we can do is to understand the balance between our income and expenditure, to rid ourselves of all extraneous expenditure, and to make sure that we obtain the best value for money that we can. We might also be well advised not to commit ourselves to expensive purchases till we see which way the wind is blowing – and that includes not booking expensive holidays just at the moment. Let’s make sure that we have the money and that the holiday firm is going to be around!
You may have heard Martin Lewis on TV or radio. He is a fast-talking but eminently sensible financial expert and we echo his sentiments entirely. Check out his website Martin’s Money Tips at www.moneysavingexpert.com
We were very pleased to be able to attend a workshop in London, on 22nd January, on Health, Workplace Design and the Older Worker, organised by SPARC, TAEN and Help the Aged.
This area is another very important facet in satisfying the need, at both an individual and organisational level, for people to be able to work to a greater age. There is a great deal of debate regarding the financial, well-being and social needs for individuals to be working longer and the skills shortages which are facing employers if they do not try to retain their older workers. However, the simple truth is that, as we get older, so we may not be able to perform in certain areas as efficiently as we once used to, particularly in relation to physical tasks.
There are all kinds of ways that the contributions of older workers can be properly harnessed and SPARC (Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity) seeks to promote research into many of the possibilities and to lobby where appropriate. Such areas include a greater responsibility for government, industry and individuals to maintain the health of workers throughout their working lives; they include a better design of working practices and the physical working environment. They include a better understanding of the abilities which people have and how, while some tail off as we grow older, others may increase and compensate. And they include the need for more imaginative and proactive management to understand what is taking place and how it can be better organised.
The research still has very far to go but this excellent workshop was able to bring together many of the people at the forefront of the thinking, together with an outline of some specific work currently being carried out.
For more visit the SPARC website at www.sparc.co.uk
Wales has just taken the step of appointing the world’s first Commissioner for Older People. Ruth Marks, currently director of RNIB Cymru, takes up her appointment in April with the brief to promote the rights and welfare of older people in Wales. She will be their voice, raising the profile of older people’s needs and ensuring that their views are sought and listened to.
Her focus will be on those over 60, well within the in my prime framework but also concerned very much with the needs of the truly elderly. Currently, 22% of the population in Wales is over 60, forecast to rise to 29% in the next twenty years. She will be covering all aspects, including financial well-being, adequacy and availability of services and issues such as abuse and neglect, as well as matters relating to age discrimination.
In the words of Ruth Marks “We have to bust the myths about older people and recognise the contribution they make to the economy and society at large”.
In my prime welcomes this development and we see much more happening in the governmental arena. In the UK there are 20 million people over 50, 43% of the voting population.
Record numbers of women are working beyond the age of 60 recent figures have revealed. The growth in the number of older women workers is the fastest of any age group and this growth is likely to continue.
Some of the reasons may be very positive. It is now easier to choose to work longer if one is in a job already and the personal benefits, in terms of interest, self-esteem and social interaction, in addition to continued income generation, are all very important. But for some, continued employment is an unwelcome necessity, a need to supplement inadequate pensions over a long time horizon. There are many reasons, as yet not fully understood. Disadvantageous state pensions, insufficient personal savings, the effects of divorce or bereavement, parents or children needing continued financial support, all come into the equation.
It is also not that easy to find new work as one gets older although over time, hopefully, the age discrimination legislation will make it that bit easier. In addition, there are those who have been self-employed where the dream of great entrepreneurial success has not been realised. These people will have to soldier on or to adjust to a new set of realities.
The message is there for all, but quite possibly more so for women, in particular lone women. Growing older is not all about cruises, second properties and inheritance tax problems – not by a long chalk.
Be honest now. How many times in the last week have you justified a momentary lapse of concentration or memory loss by saying ‘ I’m having a senior moment’, or ‘It’s my age’? How often did you preface any sentence with the words, ‘At my/our time of life…’? or even worse, ‘In my day…’? How frequently did you use the killer phrase ‘I remember when…’? or justify some failing by saying ‘It was different when I was young’?
If your answer was ‘quite often’ then you’re not alone. If you listen to most over 50s you’ll hear them using these and many similar phrases regularly, often in a very self-deprecating way. Okay, usually the intention is to make light of our failings and idiosyncrasies which can be very entertaining and amusing, but underneath there is a more sinister force at work. Through speaking and presenting ourselves to the world in this way we are reinforcing those ageist stereotypes that we otherwise fight so hard against. By talking ‘old’ we’re making ourselves ‘old’.
It’s as if we are using our mode of speech as a defence mechanism. By saying, in effect, ‘I recognise that I am ageing and I am not as capable as I once was,’ we avoid the danger of being laughed at, pitied or ridiculed. As a common response to a threatening situation this would appear reasonable if it wasn’t for the fact that if we believe that we are essentially vibrant, capable, energetic and powerful people then there’s nothing that we need to justify in this way. More>>
Do you need some inspiration, some advice or just a cheapish day out where you might learn something or pick up some ideas? Two shows/fairs are coming up shortly, both in London, one on personal finance and the other on some extreme and not too extreme lifestyle changes. The details are as follows – the words are theirs.
“In one day you can find answers to all of your financial worries. Whether you are looking to pay off debts, arrange mortgages or pensions, invest in new ventures, reduce your tax burden, or simply re-organise your monetary affairs, you can find the solution at The Your Money Matters Show.”
“Are you stuck in a rut and long to make a change for a more fulfilling life? Do you dream about taking a career break to travel the world, moving overseas, retraining for a new career, starting your own business, retiring early or just improving the life you're living right now? Come to One Life Live 2008 and find out how.”
Just to provide some further insight into the truly global nature of the issues facing the planet with regard to older people, here are some extracts from an article by Tammy Erickson in Harvard Business Online/Business Week.
“This year, the first Boomer will turn 62, the age at which one becomes eligible for what the U.S. government calls "early retirement"—the opportunity to begin collecting government benefits, albeit at 75% of the rate that one would be entitled to receive by waiting four more years.
The first Boomer registering for benefits from U.S. Social Security was Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946, now making her eligible for this early retirement option. Throughout the year, an additional 3.2 million Boomers in the U.S. alone will also turn 62. That's 365 every hour. About half (49% of the men and 53% of the women) are expected to choose official early retirement.
Over the next 22 years, nearly 80 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964, the generally accepted boundaries of the Boomer generation, more than 10,000 per day, will become eligible to join the club. In 2011, they'll turn 65 and be eligible for Medicare. In 2012, those who didn't take early retirement benefits will turn 66 and qualify for their full share. More>>
Silver surfer’s colour guide to travel and holidays
Simon and Susan Veness, Published by Foulsham, 2007
If you’re in the middle of the post-Christmas, mid-winter gloom, holiday planning process, you’ll love this hugely useful guide to researching travel and holidays on the internet. It’s practical, comprehensive and written largely for the UK market by a highly experienced husband and wife team who have been working and researching online for the past ten years.
Regardless of your existing level of expertise in internet searching, this simple, step-by-step handbook tells you everything you need to know about online travel from your first ideas of where to go through to the full booking process, taking in hotels, flights, sightseeing, insurance, and much more in between. Not only is it an easy read but there are loads of handy screenshots and illustrations to make the process extra clear.
These days, the complexity of options and prices on offer in respect of every aspect of travel can be daunting. So, even if you consider yourself an internet whizz, you’ll find the book contains masses of tips to help you access exactly what you want and get the best deal.