When you think of retirement what comes to mind? Popular stereotypes include: a gold watch and party at age 65, playing golf, travel and more time with the grandchildren.
The reality is that, today, the over 65s are starting companies, running countries, expanding business empires, volunteering locally, sailing the world and driving their adult children crazy with worry. Age sure ain’t what it used to be.
Most of the giants of Irish business worked, or continue to work, beyond 65 – Margaret Heffernan, the late Feargal Quinn, Breege O’Donoughue, Martin Naughton and Julie O’Neill to name just a few.
Thanks to better nutrition, exercise and medical progress, today’s pensioners are more physically and mentally active than their parents. A person aged 65 in Ireland today can expect to live to almost 86 and many Gen Xers may live even longer, with projections showing a lifespan of up to 100 years.
Many older healthier adults want, or need, to keep working beyond 65 and this is reshaping both the workplace and the marketplace.
Companies that fail to design their businesses with employees’ and customers’ full life in mind are missing out on one of the greatest
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.