the shops in Sugamo are barrier-free, giving easy access to people with canes, walkers or wheelchairs. Moreover, the layout of each shop is open and the height of the counter is rather low, and they provide an atmosphere where shop staff and customers can easily communicate. In the UK, a business network called Engage have established AGE OK to give credit to old-age-friendly products or schemes, the first being for remote controls for TV to help with poor sight.
There are currently about 1 million in the UK people of retirement age in full or part-time work, a significant increase in number. Those with middle incomes and wealth are the most likely to stay in work as they approach state pension age. The poor often stop work through ill-health or disability. Four out of five people with a compulsory retirement age in their job would not want to work beyond it. A survey in the US found that about half of those working beyond retirement age did so because they wanted to and only 17 per cent did so because they needed the money. Banks have been accused of deliberately misleading vulnerable elderly into gambling their savings in risky investments. It would be sensible for those over 70 to bring an adviser with them when thinking of such investments, and a senior manager should be involved.
Retirement only came to industrial societies in the twentieth century, when people were living much longer —before that working lives mainly ended with death. A 65-year-old man can now expect to live another 16 years. As individuals approach retirement, they need to decide when to stop working and to examine their financial situation, particularly their pensions. Age for retirement varies, but 65 is common, and it affects the cost of pensions. State money for the old came after the Old Age Pensions Act in 1909, paying an amount of between 10p and 25p a week from age 70, on a means-tested basis. Then the Contributory Pensions Act in 1925 set up a state scheme for manual workers and others earning up to
There is an old saying that old people yearn for retirement, but that many who have retired regret it. Ernest Hemingway said that retirement was the worst word in the English language as it indicated the loss of the activity that was at the centre of one’s life. Denial of ageing can be very common. The restaurateur Antonio Carlucci sees retirement as death. Compulsory retirement below 65 is unlawful unless the employer can provide an objective reason. A worker can see their employment end at the age of 65 without any redundancy payment—even if they do not want to retire. However, there is a compelling case for the retirement age to rise, mainly so that the individuals can continue to earn money. The UK coalition government has recently decided to abolish the compulsory retirement age by October 2011. The young see the increase in the retirement age as blocking their own promotion, but not that there is a problem in how to financially support all those who have retired.
A survey suggested that about half of retirees found the current law satisfying, and only 7 per cent found it unsatisfying. One third said that spending more time with their families was a good reason for retirement, yet an increasing proportion of those in their mid-50s expect to be working after 65. Poor health plays a major role in deciding when to retire—more so than finance. But the nature of the job has an influence, as one third of those over 70 with jobs held managerial and professional positions.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 gave an employee approaching 65 the right to ask to continue working, but an employer can refuse without any explanation. The age regulations do not require an employer to give a reason for a refusal to grant an employee’s request to continue working; the obligation is only to consider the request, to follow the correct procedures in relation to adhering to the time limits, and hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the matter. Some 25,000 are forced out of work each year for this reason. The Horndal effect shows how useful and competent older workers can be: production at a steel mill in Sweden went up 15 per cent as workers aged, with annual output per worker increased steadily for 15 years with no additional investment.
When the UK government scrapped the mandatory retirement age for civil servants from April 2010, they were lauded for being progressive. It would have been hypocrisy to send 65-year-old civil servants home for good, while the House of Commons was, before the recent general election packed with 89 MPs over the retirement age of 65. People over 60 are more active than ever before, and it is only right that the state recognise this. Many of the votes that keep MPs in office are from the over 65s. The House of Lords is often referred to as Britain’s most expensive retirement home, since in 2010 the average age was 69. It can be argued that they have a significant collective wisdom that comes with age. Judges in the UK retire at 70, while in Canada, for federally appointed judges, retirement is mandatory at age 75, and in the USA Supreme Court judges have no retirement age and effectively have life tenure. An 89-year-old Supreme Court Justice recently commented: ‘You can say I will retire within the next three years. I’m sure of that.’ University professors in the US do not have a mandatory retirement age—lucky them. In Germany, a new law abolishing the compulsory retirement age of 68 for GPs and specialists in primary care recently came into effect.
Politicians can also work till they are old in other countries. But these days, not even in China do politicians work as long as they do in Italy. Former President Giorgio Napolitano was 84, and former Prime Minister Romano Prodi 70. In India—a young nation, where almost 75 per cent of their billion-plus population is below 40 years old, and over half have not even passed the age of 25—some see it as ironical that most of their top politicians are in their 70s and some are over 80.
I have now, aged 80, found retirement quite hard. I miss my group of fellow scientists, mainly PhD students with whom I worked. I still have a room at University College and go in to seminars and very occasionally lecture. I am fortunately still invited to talk at various meetings, including some outside the UK. Most of my time is spent at home writing books, like this one. I do it lying on my bed with the computer on my lap. But I still play tennis twice a week, jog slowly once a week, and cycle here and there. One of the pleasures of being a retired scientist is that I no longer have to apply for research grants and regularly publish good papers, or mark exam papers. But I do miss the research, even though I doubt that I am now competent to cope with the new technical advances in my subject, developmental biology. There are, for example, new techniques for identifying which genes are active in different places at different stages, which are now a bit beyond me. There are also, I regret, times when I wonder what the point of continuing to live really is.
Comparatively, Eastern civilisations have shown more respect to the old than those in the West. But even in India, where the old have not been seen as an eyesore struggling for existence as in some other societies, the elderly face a number of problems, such as poverty, illiteracy and inadequate health care. Most of the elderly in India are dependent on their children or close relatives. When the young leave home, there is a loss of sense of purpose to life. Youngsters dominate the workforce, with 20–35 being the desired age. Plans for 470,000 needy elderly to remain in their own homes will cost
In some societies the old are revered. In non-industrial societies the office of chieftainship is not infrequently occupied by aged persons, although in late life some of their authority and duties may be delegated to others. Among such people it is most unusual to reach the age of 65, so generally those of 50 are looked upon as being old. Important factors in societies where the old are respected include their active association with others, and assistance in their interests and enterprises. They can be regarded as repositories of knowledge, imparters of valuable information, and as having the ability to deal with the fearful supernatural powers. In societies without magic the attitude to the aged varies. The proportion of the old who remain active in these primitive societies is higher than in wealthier civilisations, for they utilise the services of their few old people. Probably nowhere has age received greater homage than among the Palaungs of North Burma, who attribute long life to virtue in a previous life. ‘No one dares step upon their shadow lest harm befall him.’ It is such a privilege and honour to be old among the Palaungs that as soon as a girl marries she is eager to appear older than her age. Examples of the glorification
