Comment
Ageing issues now undeniable
Brian Shakes
It looks like we’re in for some interesting times over the next few months as the Federal Government and Opposition battle to claim our votes in the lead up to the election later this year. Neither party can avoid the reality of an ageing population nor the reality that some hard decisions need to be made now in terms of aged care funding, infrastructure development and so on.
We have seen the Government make a grand opening move in the chess game with the Prime Minister and his Treasurer announcing policy changes late last month in retirement and superannuation rules.
Do we want to work to 70? Some of us do and some of us don’t. Some of us want to work beyond; some of us are so tired we just want the change that retirement might bring now.
I suspect, without having seen all the detail, that the Government’s changes will be good for those who can work and for those who want to, but I’m concerned that individual choice remains. No one size can possibly fit all, and there are complexities about superannuation as it relates to part-time working and portfolio working that the changes may not address adequately.
We need, however, to see this shift in a larger context than just as a change forced by demographics as the baby-boomer generation moves into retirement.
The babyboomers have always been about choice and doing things differently; why should retirement be any different?
The wish to give something back to society in return for all they have gained is a fundamental part of the life experience of most people 50 years and over. These are the years we can think of as the years of active maturity, and none of us want our skills, our abilities, our ‘usefulness’ to go to waste.
But whereas perhaps the current generation of retirees has sought to express this largely through volunteering in the community, I predict many babyboomers will turn their individualistic and entrepreneurial flair towards niche micro business ventures.
It would be to this country’s economic and social detriment if changes in retirement policy prevented this upsurge in creativity. Don’t let’s push people into ‘dead-end’ jobs that sap their energy and enthusiasm for life just to keep them as working statistics.
And speaking of choice, where are the jobs coming from for all those who do want or will have to work? After all, there is huge unemployment and underemployment already for those over 50.
Employers are missing out when they fail to tap into this goodwill and to the accumulated intellectual property, wisdom and flexibility that comes with many mature workers.
Let’s adopt a true babyboomer attitude to this whole question of working later and keep our options open! That way we can each find the best pathway to active ageing for ourselves as individuals!
• Brian Shakes is chief executive officer, Over 50s Association.
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