Motivating those who wish they could be elsewhere

There’s good news and bad news associated with yesterday’s announcement by the CIPD of a huge increase in the number of older workers planning to work beyond state pension age. According to their survey of 2,000 working people, 71% of those aged 55 and over are now planning on staying longer compared to 40% two years ago – with the main driver being “financial factors”.

The good news is that this implies that older people are taking a realistic view of their financial prospects for the future and are taking appropriate steps to deal with impact of the recession and demographic changes. The slightly less clear implication of this is whether or not they will actually be able to realise their plans as, at present, the majority of employers still retain a default retirement age and a right of veto in respect of requests to work beyond this (with no need to justify a refusal).

The bad news – for both employers and older employees – is that needing to work longer by no means equates to wanting to work longer. As CIPD spokesman Charles Cotton said, “Employers will have to motivate those who wish they could be elsewhere”.  They will indeed – and it will not be an easy task. Those who have to work longer for financial reasons are not necessarily going to be doing so gladly, so the issue of resentment and disengagement may have to be added to the already heady mix of challenges surrounding later life working. 

Employers wanting to avoid a range of attitudinal and behavioural problems should start investigating imaginative solutions to making later life working desirable, aspirational and motivating – without further delay. They need to work with their older employees to find ways to redesign the later years of working life in a way that is meaningful and appropriate for older people, provides good business outcomes, and doesn’t alienate younger generations.  A big ask? Maybe, but not impossible.

A glance at the demographics shows that the scale of the problem is going to be immense and is unlikely to recede greatly once the recession is over. A head in the sand approach will not be the best way forward.

What’s so special about 50+?

Oscar, the concessions site for the over 50s has launched a new award to coincide with UK Older Person’s Day and Grandparents’ Day which both take place this month. They’ve called them the Golden Owls and their purpose is to “find the cream of the over-50s”.  All well and good -  we strongly support the idea of promoting the position of older people and would always encourage the recognition of much needed role models for what being “over 50” is like these days.

But sadly, a closer look at the categories reveals that this is hardly likely to be the outcome. If you want to vote you can choose from:
•  THE EUREKA – most inspirational person of our time
•  THE ENDURANCE – longest-lasting celebrity
•  THE GIVER – Most worthy charity
•  THE INNOVATOR – Most recognised achievement in industry
•  THE OLYMPIAN – Outstanding contribution to sport
•  THE OWL – Lifetime Achievement Award

All of these are likely to produce the same old names representing the same old activities. What’s happened to the really meaningful stuff like:

The Feminist – the woman who has overcome ageist stereotypes

The Supporter – the individual from whatever sphere who has most helped the cause of older people

The Communicator – the writer, artist or commentator who has most clearly contributed to greater understanding about ageing in the twenty-first century

The Worker – the employee who sets the best example of what later life working can be

We’re sure there are plenty more categories that would be really worthwhile including those in areas such as caring, wisdom, and original thought. Why not let us know what you’d like to see?

In the meantime, as nominations close on October 15^th, you ‘ll have to be quick with the Golden Owls if you want to cast your vote.

Click here  to see more

Fairness, equality and the lifecourse

Last week we attended the third in a series of seminars presented by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Age Concern / Help the Aged (for whom a new name is imminent). Entitled JustAgeing: fairness, equality and the lifecourse the programme focuses on inequality over the lifecourse with this particular seminar being held to examine the notion of inter-generational equity. In what was an interesting but fundamentally academic discussion, a number of contentious issues were raised not least the assumed ability of particular generations (in this case “baby boomers”) to manipulate resources to their own benefit and the detriment of others. What emerged yet again however is that we lack an adequate vocabulary to discuss meaningfully today’s ageing reality – as revealed by a clear demonstration that the generation we think of as “baby boomers” in the UK is in fact two different cohorts who have been subject to different social, economic and environmental influences relating to the different years they were born. 

But the real issue which quickly emerged from the heart of the session was the extent to which we, as a society or as providers of services, can or should expect to be able to achieve inter-generational equity and the extent to which this is either achievable or desirable.  After all, individuals always have been and will be different. As we have said so often before, why do we expect them then to suddenly become homogeneous simply because of a shared age?  It was an interesting theoretical discussion no doubt, but unfortunately there was not a great deal of practical use to take away.

Case studies needed

We are often approached by journalists who need real life case studies of people in their prime (i.e. 50s and 60s) to interview for newspaper or magazine articles they are writing. Just at the moment we have a request for women who are currently planning a retirement dream – the interview will focus on financial planning aspects and will be published in a new financial services magazine coming out early in 2010. The closing date for potential interviewees for this is September 18^th. 

However, on an ongoing basis, we are always happy to hear from anyone in this age group who feels they have an interesting story to tell, particularly in relation to a special achievement in later life or perhaps starting a business or taking a change of direction. We can feature you on the Prime Examples section of our website (www.inmyprime.info) and of course, could then contact you if we were approached by a journalist looking for case studies such as yours. For those of you who do have a business it can be a great publicity opportunity and, this aside, your story can be a huge source of inspiration and a role model to other people who are rethinking their lives.

Please get in touch!

Email enquiries@inmyprime.info

Important opportunity to contribute to government thinking on age

 In July, in the midst of summer (?) the Government launched its strategy “Building A Society For All Ages” which is intended to help Britain prepare for our ageing society. The strategy builds on work already being done and sets out a number of new proposals which include:

• The launch of an interactive one stop shop for helping people plan ahead from 2010.  This will help people in mid-life to make decisions on financial, health, careers and other issues;
• A new Active at 60 package which will provide people with information about their entitlements and opportunities – helping them to stay active and involved in their later life;
• Working with local areas to develop a Good Place to Grow Old Programme with a National Agreement to promote the importance of ageing issues at a local level, and an innovative service delivery fund to test new approaches to delivering services for older people;
• A new UK Advisory Forum on Ageing will be responsible at a national level for providing advice to ministers across Government on additional steps that Government and partners need to take to improve well-being and independence in later life. 

These proposals form part of a full, formal public consultation in which views are welcomed from all on how government can implement these proposals and what more can be done to reach a vision of a society for all ages. They are keen to receive written responses and to hear views at a number of consultation events taking place across the country in September and October from local government, stakeholders, the voluntary and private sectors and the general public. 

This seems a real opportunity to make the views of older people heard. For further information and to contribute go to http://www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingasocietyforallages/consultation.aspx

Saving for retirement – the biscuit tin approach

Hardly a day goes by now without another piece of depressing information about the state of the nation’s pensions. In the last few days alone we have seen more defined benefit schemes closing, more reports on the lack of savings that individuals are making particularly during the recession, and soaring bankruptcy numbers among pensioners. One report, highlighting the fact that many are now unable to foresee when they might retire or how they might have adequate savings to live on, has  coined the term “baby gloomers”  to describe the plight that people feel they are in.

The advice that comes from the financial industry is plentiful but very self-serving: “save more for a pension”; “release some equity from your home”; “tuck your money away in an ISA”; “invest in buy-to let”; and more. The government believes that the answer lies in personal accounts which everyone will flock to in a few years’ time – we will see.

Many people, knowing their savings are insufficient but not by how much, would like to work longer, certainly past 65. Yet the government is still dragging its heels in a most extraordinary fashion. This is despite the fact that change is inevitable. The state pension age will be increasing to 68 in the coming years but the default retirement age is currently 65. What are people going to do –starve for three years? One glimmer of hope that the recession is providing is that firms are beginning to see the futility of redundancy as an answer to their problems and are looking at more innovative ways of managing the current problems with flexible arrangements, part-time working, sabbaticals etc. all now featuring. These are also ideal tools for dealing with an ageing workforce.

However, the first problem that must be addressed is one of awareness. There is, in the country as a whole, an order of magnitude lack of understanding among people of all ages as to exactly what it takes in financial terms to retire in some form of comfort. A fundamental and far reaching “reality check” is needed to reconcile the aspirational dream of an interesting, financially secure retirement with the ongoing provision that individuals are making through their working lives.

Retirement financial planning involves running up a store of wealth, retiring, and then running it down again over the course of the rest of our life – as simple as that. Building up a retirement pot is very much like tucking money away in a biscuit tin each week to save for Christmas – except Christmas may last twenty years or more.

For more see  Saving for retirement – the biscuit tin approach

Save the last dance

For once a great TV programme about older people last night (in Alan Yentob’s BBC2 Imagine series) presented in a way that was neither patronising nor voyeuristic. The programme followed the Sadlers Wells Company of Elders Contemporary Dance troupe – a group of 25 or so ordinary men and women of average age 79 - through their preparations for a new dance performance at Sadlers Wells.

Not only were the dancers themselves entertaining and inspirational, but their commitment, attitude and sheer bonhomie was a joy to behold. Better still the audience who watched their eventual performance were obviously moved, as had been their choreographer. Not by the fact that older people can dance, but by the extra element their life experiences added to their performance, underlying that dance is not just about physical beauty and accuracy but also about creativity and soul.

Definitely worth tracking down if you missed it even if you’re not a great dance afficionado. Next week’s programme topic also bodes well: David Hockney at age 70. Watch that space.

Maturity: a mystery for marketers

Our website www.inmyprime.info is now well-established and continues to be well-visited (go on, have a look if you haven’t already). As a result we are, on a daily basis, emailed and called by numerous marketing and PR people promoting products, services and stories relating to those of mature years in the hope that we will use their material.

We’re not complaining about this. Some of the stuff is very interesting and pertinent. Some of it provides us with knowledge, insight and substance we can use on the website or elsewhere. But unfortunately rather a lot of it has nothing at all to do with the market we operate in.

The array of material we get forcefully underlines just how little marketing and PR people in general understand age. The age group we focus on, as is clearly stated on our website, is 50 to 70. As such it is a totally different generation from the truly elderly which in itself is a group fragmented by health, wealth, and cognitive and other abilities. As our focus is on the mature market our only interest in products and services to do with the rather insensitively named geriatric market is in respect of things we might need or need to know about for our elderly parents or others of that age.

If this was acknowledged by hopeful young PRs we might be somewhat more receptive towards their material. As it is (without naming and shaming) we receive a load of old dross about comfy slippers, fluffy kittens, incontinence products, personal alarms… and far too many pictures of  white haired people in their seventies or eighties accompanying press releases containing the words “over 50s”.

Any PR or marketing people who would like to really make a mark on the mature market are advised to get in touch…