Are you aged 55-65?
You may be wondering about your future – the Third Age – and what it might mean for you.
You’re not alone. And that’s an important point to remember.
Especially as maintaining contacts and relationships is super important for our future life.
Because the world of “retirement” and “pre-retirement” is changing.
Why? Because we’re living longer, and many people have different aspirations to those of the past.
The linear model of Education, Work, Retire is starting to look a little tired as the world changes beyond recognition from the era when “retirement” meant complete withdrawal to playing golf and spending time with the grandchildren.
Driven by the Baby Boomer generation, modern “retirement” is starting to look more like a series of transitions or phases. “80 is the new 60” goes the saying as advances in physical and mental health continue at a pace.
The question facing today’s 55–65-year-olds is less “what will I do when I am no longer a productive part of society?” and more “what next???”.
With greater longevity comes an awareness that many of us will still have 20-30 years’ worth of life to live. And we want to make the most of them, as well as being able to afford the life we want.
At the heart of these aspirations is passion, connection and contribution. People want to feel active, engaged, exploratory and purposeful. 55% of Baby Boomers, for example, see “retirement” as a “new chapter” and only 8% see it as the “beginning of the end”.
In the UK, a swathe of new organisations – like Rest Less, 55/Redefined and the Unretiring – are not only combatting ageism in the workplace, but they’re also championing the opportunities for people aged 55+ to redefine what it means to continue working for longer.