Today the Governments confirms that it is abolishing the default retirement age of 65 effectively from April this year. This means that older workers have more control over their later years although many will still want to retire when their pension, if they are lucky enough to have one, becomes available. The Government seems to have ignored the pressure from employers and the CBI to delay their plans, largely due to the high costs involved of leaving things as they are. A key issue for all of us is that we can no longer afford to be economically inactive in our 60s when we have another 20-30 years more life in us.
In addition,this year the Government will be making progress on its plans to raise the state pensions age to 66 and the review of public sector pensions will also be published, as will a report on long term care.
2011 is hopefully going to be the year where real progress is made in tackling the very real challenges presented by an older population and hopefully will also present key opportunities for us all as we age.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Learning from leaf cutter ants!
An unlikely feature on this morning's Today programme on Radio 4 about Leaf Cutter ants and their performance in the work place seems very relevant to 2011 when the default retirement age is going to be abolished and employees can work longer. The research from Schofield et al "measures the efficiency of leaf cutter ants' mandibles". These are the ants whose duty it is to cut and carry something like 50 times their size in leaves (Tom and Jerry style).
As the ants wear with age the individuals with the most worn jaws are less than half as effective at cutting. Instead of making the ants redundant or them just dying, their role changes and they spend more time transporting leaf fragments sliced from their sharper sisters IE they still have a valuable contribution to make but that contribution has changed. Maybe there is something for us humans to learn from these tiny and industrious creatures for the new year.
As the ants wear with age the individuals with the most worn jaws are less than half as effective at cutting. Instead of making the ants redundant or them just dying, their role changes and they spend more time transporting leaf fragments sliced from their sharper sisters IE they still have a valuable contribution to make but that contribution has changed. Maybe there is something for us humans to learn from these tiny and industrious creatures for the new year.
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