Retirement at 65 to end as pensions gap looms. UK latest: Crisis over pensions as 13 million people fail to save enough to live on. [Guardian Unlimited]
What kind of work will we seek when we are seniors?
Boomers do not see themselves as “Old” and they will seek a more active life than their parents. Many will retire at 55 and will see “retirement” as merely the beginning of an entirely new way of working. Meaningful work will be an essential factor in keeping the middle-aged and seniors healthy. At the moment, men are at risk of losing their key role and self identity as those over 55 are shut out of the labour force. “What do you do?” is still the first question that we are asked. Not having a role is a serious impediment to our health, especially for men who so closely link themselves with paid work.
What kind of work? Will seniors just be an addition to the unemployment pool? No seniors will have different reasons for working and will seek a different type of work. No longer tied too closely to economic necessity, they will choose to work in areas that appeal to them as individuals.
They will work to live and not live to work.
They represent an important community restoring force and a new kind of labour pool. Much of what they want to do is to give back to their community. Their need to work is less driven by a need for income and more driven by a need for achieving purpose, role, recognition and fellowship. People who have these things tend not to be ill.
Role is emerging as an important health factor. A new body of research is being developed to examine the linkages between the elderly having control of key roles and their health and mortality. “… identity theory specifies that they will be able to find a deep sense of meaning and purpose in life. This is important because maintaining a sense of personal meaning may have health protective effects.” As such, encouraging seniors to work will have a positive health outcome. We will examine some options to meet this role need later.
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