tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/retirement-3177/articlesRetirement – The Conversation2024-02-28T13:12:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229122024-02-28T13:12:01Z2024-02-28T13:12:01ZWill Britons work until they’re 71? Expert examines proposed pension age rise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574609/original/file-20240209-22-wo3zz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C0%2C5385%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The current pension age of 66 is set to rise to 67 by 2028.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/elderly-man-changing-light-bulbs-retired-2269968695">Andrew Angelov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The retirement age will need to rise to 71 for UK workers in future, according to a recent <a href="https://ilcuk.org.uk/ageing-populations-forced-to-increase-state-pension-age-to-71-by-2050-to-maintain-dependency-ratio/">report</a> looking at the effect of increasing life expectancy and falling birthrates on the state pension. </p>
<p>The current pension age of 66 is set to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-age-review-2023-government-report/state-pension-age-review-2023#:%7E:text=The%20Pensions%20Act%202014%20brought,68%20between%202044%20and%202046.">rise</a> to 67 by 2028, and to 68 from 2044. But research by the International Longevity Centre (ILC), a thinktank focusing on ageing, says that doesn’t go far enough. </p>
<p>It suggests that anyone born after April 1970 may have to work until they are 71 years old in future. And there’s a possibility that the age limit may need to go even higher than that. The underpinning reason is the rising cost of pension provision because the number of pensioners and the value of payments are growing. </p>
<p>The government’s Office for Budget Responsibility <a href="https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/welfare-spending-pensioner-benefits/#:%7E:text=Pensioner%20benefit%20spending%20in%202023,5.3%20per%20cent%20of%20GDP">estimates</a> the state pension will cost around £124 billion this financial year. The pension level is safeguarded by the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/the-triple-lock-how-will-state-pensions-be-uprated-in-future/">triple lock</a>, which was first introduced in 2010. It means annual increases in payments are made in line with earnings growth, price inflation (currently 4%) or 2.5%, whichever is highest. </p>
<p>The Institute for Fiscal Studies has <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/triple-lock-uncertainty-pension-incomes-and-public-finances">estimated</a> that continuing the triple lock will lead to an extra £45 billion of annual cost by 2050.</p>
<h2>It’s not just the UK</h2>
<p>The issue of rising pension costs isn’t merely a UK problem. Countries across Europe are currently grappling with the conundrum of how to look after their ageing populations in retirement. </p>
<p>Protests erupted across <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/06/06/in-france-a-14th-day-of-protest-to-derail-macron-s-pension-reform_6029218_7.html">France in 2023</a> in response to pension reforms which would increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. There have also been ongoing <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N12F3RN/">protests in Greece</a>, which has been struggling with pension reforms since 2010. </p>
<p>Pension age increases are also <a href="https://www.etk.fi/en/work-and-pensions-abroad/international-comparisons/retirement-ages/">planned</a> in numerous other countries such as Denmark, the Czech Republic, Spain and the Netherlands.</p>
<h2>How the state pension works</h2>
<p>Unlike company-sponsored pensions, which invest money in individual accounts for future payouts, the UK state pension operates on a different principle. Instead of accumulating a personal “pot” of money, the idea is that current workers essentially fund the pensions of retirees. So, the state pension is financed from national insurance contributions and general taxation.</p>
<p>For this model to sustain itself, each new retiree entering the “pensioner pool” needs to be matched by a new worker entering the “worker pool.” As long as this balance persists, and pension claim periods remain reasonable, the system maintains its solvency.</p>
<p>Less than five years after the introduction of the state pension in 1946, the <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1954-11-15/debates/ed3805b1-dbb6-4f54-970e-58a43094a094/Old-AgeAndRetirementPensioners">pressures on the system</a> were already beginning to show. And the central issues are the same now as they were then – we are living longer and having fewer children. </p>
<p>In 1951, the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/articles/howhaslifeexpectancychangedovertime/2015-09-09">UK life expectancy</a> was 66 for men and 71 for women. By 2011, it had increased to 79 for men and almost 83 for women.</p>
<p>This means that a 66-year-old in 2024 will receive a pension for an average of nearly 16 years. But since <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/281416/birth-rate-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/">birth rates have fallen</a> from 15 per 1000 in 1951 to 10 per 1000 in 2021, those retirees aren’t being replaced with fresh workers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/matching-state-pension-to-the-national-living-wage-would-help-pensioners-maintain-their-dignity-217473">Matching state pension to the national living wage would help pensioners maintain their dignity</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/uksectoraccounts/compendium/economicreview/april2019/longtermtrendsinukemployment1861to2018#:%7E:text=Image%20.csv%20.xls-,The%20highest%20employment%20rates%20recorded%20were%20in%20the%20years%201872,average%20employment%20rate%20was%2073%25.">In 1951</a>, the UK population was 50 million with an employment rate of 70.4%. There were 35.2 million workers who were supporting 4.5 million pensioners, or 7.8 workers for every pensioner. </p>
<p>Today, the UK’s population is more than 67 million, which includes 33.17 million <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9366/">workers</a> and 12.8 million <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistics-august-2023/dwp-benefits-statistics-august-2023#:%7E:text=The%20main%20headline%20figures%20for,5.6%25%20to%201.6%20million%20claimants">pensioners</a>. This means that every pensioner is being “supported” by just 2.6 workers. </p>
<p>Both central planks of the state pension system appear to be broken. And, to further complicate matters, we are seeing increasing levels of people <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/how-is-health-affecting-economic-inactivity/">leaving the workforce</a> before they reach pension age, largely due to ill-health.</p>
<p>The state (in other words, the taxpayer) cannot afford the current pension provision for an ageing population for longer periods, let alone improve it. So, tough decisions have to be made, and soon. </p>
<h2>Generation X and millennials</h2>
<p>The implications of a rising retirement age won’t be felt by baby boomers like me. Generally speaking, we have benefited from jobs for life, free education, affordable housing and good company pensions. </p>
<p>The first cohort to shoulder the changes to the pension age will be generation X, born between 1965 and 1980. And they do not possess the wealth and assets of previous generations. </p>
<p>In fact, recent government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/analysis-of-future-pension-incomes/analysis-of-future-pension-incomes">figures</a> show that a third of the UK’s 14 million gen Xers won’t have enough savings to comfortably cover their retirement. <a href="https://www.justgroupplc.co.uk/%7E/media/Files/J/Just-Retirement-Corp/news-doc/2023/majority-of-gen-x-worried-they-wont-save-enough-for-good-standard-of-living-in-retirement.pdf">More than half</a> are not confident about achieving a good standard of living in retirement.</p>
<p>This generation, sometimes described as the “<a href="https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Gen-X-face-huge-pension-black-hole-with-two-thirds-not-saving-enough.php">forgotten generation</a>” by finance experts, stands at a disadvantage due to their lack of early access to defined benefit pensions, which were largely closed to new employees by the time they entered the workforce. They also missed out on the financial benefits of automatic enrolment in workplace pension schemes, which was introduced only after many members of this generation had already established their careers.</p>
<p>The situation doesn’t look any rosier for the millennials, who have <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/moreadultslivingwiththeirparents/2023-05-10">struggled</a> to get onto the housing ladder and are paying back student loans. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/sep/04/britons-cut-pension-contributions-hargreaves-lansdown-abrdn">Research</a> last year showed that almost a third of 18 to 34-year-olds had either stopped or cut back on pension contributions to save money. </p>
<p>Perhaps it comes as no surprise that more than two thirds of this age group <a href="https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/one-fifth-unsure-over-future-certainty-of-state-pension.php">don’t believe</a> the state pension will even exist when they enter retirement. </p>
<p>While the future of the state pension in its current form remains uncertain, one thing is clear – ignoring the problem is no longer an option.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Parry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Increasing life expectancy and falling birthrates means many of us may have to keep working until beyond 71 years of age.Chris Parry, Principal Lecturer in Finance, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224612024-02-12T13:22:05Z2024-02-12T13:22:05ZLorne Michaels, the man behind the curtain at ‘Saturday Night Live,’ has been minting comedy gold for nearly 50 years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573576/original/file-20240205-29-bcz58h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=120%2C7%2C4916%2C2303&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lorne Michaels holding one of his Emmy Awards in 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/74thEmmyAwards-TrophyTable/6c56e4ccbc7647aca4d123b7de872dd6/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=492&currentItemNo=2">Danny Moloshok/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On April 24, 1976, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0584427/">Lorne Michaels</a>, the creator and producer of the late-night NBC comedy program “Saturday Night” – it had not yet changed its name to “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/">Saturday Night Live</a>” – appeared on camera in hopes of luring the Beatles to reunite on the program.</p>
<p>The Fab Four’s last concert had been eight years earlier in San Francisco, and the <a href="https://www.thebeatles.com/abbey-road">band had stopped recording together in 1969</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL3Foo7ZokY">Michaels addressed</a> the band members by name – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – and then acknowledged rumors that the group might get back together. </p>
<p>“It’s also been said that no one has yet to come up with enough money to satisfy you,” Michaels said. “Well, if it’s money you want, there’s no problem here.”</p>
<p>Michaels then held up a check.</p>
<p>“Here it is right here. A check made out to you, the Beatles, for $3,000. All you have to do is sing three Beatles songs,” he said. “‘She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ That’s $1,000 right there. You know the words – it’ll be easy.”</p>
<p>Among the 22 million viewers was Lennon.</p>
<p>Lennon had watched the program from his home a few miles away from the NBC studio. A week later, he was watching the next episode with McCartney and told him about Michaels’ recent proposal.</p>
<p>“So John said, ‘<a href="https://www.theglassonionbeatlesjournal.com/2014/05/mccartney-talks-beatles-nirvana.html">It’s a hoot</a>, you know what would be great, we can go down there now.’” McCartney later recounted in an interview. </p>
<p>“For about five minutes, we were going, ‘We’ve got to do it.’ Then it was like, ‘Are you kidding, let’s stay in and watch the show,’” McCartney recalled. “It would be a great story, but we decided against it.”</p>
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<h2>‘It’s like he created Yale or NASA’</h2>
<p>No television program in history has chronicled American politics, culture, fads and tastes like “SNL,” which has mirrored and critiqued society over its half-century run by mocking it. “Caricatures,” <a href="https://www.humanitiesforwisdom.org/uploads/5/8/9/8/58987361/lampooning_injustice-__paul_conrad%E2%80%99s_perspective_on_civil_rights.pdf">Ralph Waldo Emerson</a> said, “are often the truest history of the times.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0275486">Tina Fey</a>, who appeared on the program from 1997 to 2006, <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1393319/lorne-michaels-reveals-who-may-succeed-him-at-saturday-night-live">reportedly might succeed Michaels</a> as its producer when he retires.</p>
<p>“Lorne created a show that’s impacted culture for decades,” Fey said of the man who has been the program’s producer, showrunner and mastermind for most of the program’s nearly half-century run. “No one has ever really successfully been able to replicate it.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aox7YP1Fr1I">Comedian Mike Myers</a>, who served as a cast member on “SNL” from 1989 to 1996, is another big fan. “It’s like he created Yale or NASA.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">SNL’s ‘needs more cowbell’ spoof of the band Blue Öyster Cult is among its most-watched sketches.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Unmatched track record</h2>
<p>Michaels <a href="https://horatioalger.ca/en/haa_members/lorne-michaels/">grew up in Toronto</a> before immigrating to the U.S., where he <a href="https://walkoffame.com/lorne-michaels/">first worked as a writer</a> for “Laugh-In” and “The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show.” He has received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement – Canada’s highest honor in the performing arts. He also won the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>, the highest civilian honor in the U.S.</p>
<p>He’s also been nominated for <a href="https://www.emmys.com/bios/lorne-michaels">102 Emmy Awards</a>, <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/credits/creator/lorne-michaels?lang=es">setting a show business record</a>, and he’s won more than 20 of them. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls083322620/">“SNL” has won more Emmys</a> than any other TV show.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/m/ma-mn/lorne-michaels/">Michaels’ long list of awards</a> includes the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, two Peabody Awards and the Kennedy Center Honors.</p>
<p><a href="https://screenrant.com/snl-best-skits-ranked/#olympia-caf-eacute">“SNL”‘s skits</a> and its humorous “<a href="https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/snl-weekend-update-hosts-in-order">Weekend Update</a>” news segments have tracked America’s politics, fads, foibles and scandals from the era of disco fever through the COVID-19 pandemic and today’s <a href="https://youtu.be/pGO1hC4iIb8">trepidation about artificial intelligence</a>.</p>
<p>Whether it was <a href="https://youtu.be/puJePACBoIo">John Belushi</a> gruffly taking orders at a dive that’s only serving cheeseburgers at breakfast time, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgZukeisGwU&ab_channel=MsMojo">Fey impersonating Sarah Palin</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwPQn7i-6JQ">James Austin Johnson</a> caricaturing Donald Trump, “SNL” has served as the nation’s laugh track through the last half-century.</p>
<p>That’s in large part because Michaels <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/how-snls-lorne-michaels-became-179894/">recruited some of the best comic minds and actors</a> of the last half-century to work for “SNL,” including, but hardly limited to, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Will Ferrell, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson.</p>
<p>“There has never been anything in show business <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/feb/17/lorne-michaels-kingmaker-comedy-saturday-night-live">like his track record for discovering stars</a>,” said Doug Hill, the author of “Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Gilda Radner as Emily Litella, a recurring character, and Chevy Chase, the original Weekend Update anchor.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>No reunion necessary</h2>
<p>Michaels’ enduring success is like that of a top college football coach who remains successful year after year even though his players frequently have to be replaced. But then again, how many <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/longest-tenured-college-football-coaches-023305426.html">college football coaches</a> have remained at the top of their game for a half-century?</p>
<p>At some point, Michaels, who <a href="https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/lorne-michaels.html">turns 80 on Nov. 17, 2024</a>, will retire.</p>
<p>When asked about retirement rumors in January 2024, he said he intended to remain with the program for at least another year.</p>
<p>“We’re doing the 50th anniversary show in February of '25,” <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1393319/lorne-michaels-reveals-who-may-succeed-him-at-saturday-night-live">he told “Entertainment Tonight</a>.” “I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that, and sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”</p>
<p>No matter when Michaels retires, his legacy is secure. So are his contributions to comedy, <a href="https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/first-saturday-night-live-cast-snl-season-1">beginning with the original cast</a>, known as the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players. The roster included Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Garrett Morris.</p>
<p>A movie about the behind-the-scenes mayhem before the show first went on the air, “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27657135/">SNL 1975</a>,” is in the works.</p>
<p>It was near the end of the first season of “SNL” when Michaels offered the Beatles $3,000 to appear on the program. </p>
<p>Former Beatle <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694666/">Harrison</a> did make an appearance later that year. <a href="https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-chris-farley-show-paul-mccartney/2868143">McCartney later made several appearances</a>, and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694472/">Starr</a> hosted an episode in 1984. But neither “Saturday Night Live” nor Michaels, as it turned out, needed a Beatles reunion to make their mark on popular culture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Lamb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The show has served as the nation’s laugh track for decades. Who will take over when he retires?Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2179222024-01-28T19:03:51Z2024-01-28T19:03:51ZAfter a lifetime studying superannuation, here are 5 things I wish I knew earlier<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565034/original/file-20231211-23-sqk7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5366%2C3017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/adult-hipster-son-old-senior-father-2022314720">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amassing the wealth needed to support retirement by regular saving is a monumental test of personal planning and discipline. Fortunately for most Australian workers, the superannuation system can help. </p>
<p>Superannuation uses the carrot of tax incentives, and the sticks of compulsion and limited access, to make us save for retirement. </p>
<p>There are benefits to paying timely attention to your super early in your working life to get the most from this publicly mandated form of financial self-discipline. </p>
<p>I’ve been researching and thinking about superannuation for most of my career. Here’s what I wish I knew at the beginning of my working life.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-and-low-income-earners-miss-out-in-a-superannuation-system-most-australians-think-is-unfair-207633">Women and low-income earners miss out in a superannuation system most Australians think is unfair</a>
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<h2>1. Check you’re actually getting paid super</h2>
<p>First, make sure you are getting your dues. </p>
<p>If you are working, your employer must contribute <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-contributions/how-much-super-to-pay">11% of your earnings</a> into your superannuation account. By July 2025 the rate will increase to 12%. </p>
<p>This mandatory payment (the “<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee">superannuation guarantee</a>”) may look like yet another tax but it is an important part of your earnings (would you take an 11% pay cut?). </p>
<p>It is worth checking on, and worth <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/super-report-unpaid-super-contributions-from-my-employer">reporting</a> if it is not being paid. </p>
<p>The Australian Tax Office <a href="https://oia.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/posts/2023/05/Impact%20Analysis%20-%20Unpaid%20Superannuation%20Guarantee%20package.pdf">estimates</a> there is a gap between the superannuation employers should pay and what they do pay of around 5% (or $A3.3 billion) every year.</p>
<p>Failing to pay is <a href="https://oia.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/posts/2023/05/Impact%20Analysis%20-%20Unpaid%20Superannuation%20Guarantee%20package.pdf">more common</a> among the accommodation, food service and construction industries, as well as small businesses.</p>
<p>Don’t take your payslip at face value; cross-check your super account balance and the annual statement from your fund.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman checks a computer and a piece of paper closely." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565036/original/file-20231211-19-glzd44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Cross-check your super account balance and the annual statement from your fund.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-latin-business-woman-manager-accounting-2257912259">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>2. Have just one super account</h2>
<p>Don’t make personal donations to the finance sector by having more than one superannuation account.</p>
<p>Two super accounts mean you are donating unnecessary administration fees, possibly redundant insurance premiums and suffering two times the confusion to manage your accounts. </p>
<p>The superannuation sector does not need your charity. If you have more than one super account, please consolidate them into just one today. You can do that <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/consolidating-super-funds">relatively easily</a>. </p>
<h2>3. Be patient, and appreciate the power of compound interest</h2>
<p>If you’re young now, retirement may feel a very distant problem not worth worrying about until later. But in a few decades you’re probably going to appreciate the way superannuation works. </p>
<p>As a person closing in on retirement, I admit I had no idea in my 20s how much my future, and the futures of those close to me, would depend on my superannuation savings.</p>
<p>Now I get it! <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27459">Research</a> <a href="https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publications/pandp.20221022.pdf">shows</a> the strict rules preventing us from withdrawing superannuation earlier are definitely costly to some people in preventing them from spending on things they really need. For many, however, it stops them spending on things that, in retrospect, they would rate as less important.</p>
<p>But each dollar we contribute in our 30s is worth around three times the dollars we contribute in our 50s. This is because of the advantages of time and <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/saving/compound-interest">compound interest</a> (which is where you earn interest not just on the money initially invested, but on the interest as well; it’s where you earn “interest on your interest”). </p>
<p>For some, adding extra “voluntary” savings can build up retirement savings as a buffer against the periods of unemployment, disability or carer’s leave that most of us experience at some stage. </p>
<h2>4. Count your blessings</h2>
<p>If you are building superannuation savings, try to remember you’re among the lucky ones.</p>
<p>The benefits of super aren’t available to those who can’t work much (or at all). They face a more precarious reliance on public safety nets, like the Age Pension.</p>
<p>So aim to maintain your earning capacity, and pay particular attention to staying employable if you take breaks from work. </p>
<p>What’s more, superannuation savings are invested by (usually) skilled professionals at rates of return hard for individual investors to achieve outside the system. </p>
<p>Many larger superannuation funds offer members types of investments – such as infrastructure projects and commodities – that retail investors can’t access. </p>
<p>The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) also <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/industries/superannuation">checks</a> on large funds’ investment strategies and performance. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman holds her baby while walking in the park." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565039/original/file-20231211-22-kfo8f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pay attention to staying employable if you take breaks from work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-holds-her-daughter-arms-she-2263449955">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>5. Tough decisions lie ahead</h2>
<p>The really hard work is ahead of you. The saving or “accumulation” phase of superannuation is mainly automatic for most workers. Even a series of non-decisions (defaults) will usually achieve a satisfactory outcome. A little intelligent activity will do even better. </p>
<p>However, at retirement we face the challenge of making that accumulated wealth cover our needs and wants over an uncertain number of remaining years. We also face variable returns on investments, a likely need for aged care and, in many cases, declining cognitive capacity. </p>
<p>It’s helpful to frame your early thinking about superannuation as a means to support these critical decades of consumption in later life.</p>
<p>At any age, when we review our financial management and think about what we wish we had known in the past, we should be realistic. Careful and conscientious people still make mistakes, procrastinate and suffer from bad luck. So if your super isn’t where you had hoped it would be by now, don’t beat yourself up about it. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/age-pension-cost-to-ease-by-2060s-but-super-tax-breaks-to-swell-intergenerational-report-212012">Age pension cost to ease by 2060s but super tax breaks to swell: Intergenerational report</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Thorp is a member of UniSuper. She receives and has received research funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the TIAA Institute (USA), and UniSuper and Cbus Superannuation funds via ARC Linkage Grants. Thorp was previously Professor of Finance and Superannuation at UTS, a position that was partly funded by Sydney Financial Forum (Colonial First State Global Asset Management), the NSW Government, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Industry Superannuation Network (ISN), and the Paul Woolley Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality, UTS. She is an Associate Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), a member of the OECD-International Network on Financial Education Research Committee, the Steering Committee of the Melbourne-Mercer Global Pensions Index, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Consultative Committee, the Board of New College (UNSW) and the Research Committee of Super Consumers Australia, a not-for-profit advocacy organisation for Australian pension plan participants.</span></em></p>As a person now closing in on retirement, I admit I had no idea in my 20s how much my future, and the futures of those close to me, would depend on my superannuation savings.Susan Thorp, Professor of Finance, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208172024-01-17T13:36:23Z2024-01-17T13:36:23ZChef Bill Granger dies and leaves behind an inadvertent legacy – the avocado toast meme<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569130/original/file-20240112-25-mrzqwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C25%2C4268%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it avocado toast or high interest rates that have prevented so many young people from buying homes?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/avocado-butter-royalty-free-image/185328444?phrase=avocado+toast+illustration&searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true">Josef Mohyla/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Christmas Day 2023, world-renowned Australian chef and restaurateur <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/27/bill-granger-renowned-australian-cook-dies-aged-54">Bill Granger died at 54</a>. </p>
<p>Granger owned and operated 19 restaurants across Australia, the U.K., Japan and South Korea. He authored 14 cookbooks, produced several TV shows and was awarded <a href="https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine/how-bill-granger-conquered-the-world-s-breakfast-tables-20230307-p5cq7g">the Medal of the Order of Australia</a>.</p>
<p>But his lasting legacy may be his role in making avocado toast <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/dining/bill-granger-dead.html">a Western culinary staple</a> – and, inadvertently, the viral meme that transformed the open sandwich into a symbol of generational tension.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Man uses a spatula to flip pancakes in a frying pan." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569577/original/file-20240116-17-asgem0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Bill Granger was renowned for adding a bougie twist to breakfast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/australian-chef-bill-granger-cooks-pancakes-for-tasting-of-news-photo/72864230?adppopup=true">Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The practice of spreading avocado on bread has existed for centuries, particularly in Central and South America. Some speculate it dates as far back as the 1500s, <a href="https://tastecooking.com/really-invented-avocado-toast/">when the Spanish settlers brought Western breads to Mexico</a>. But a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/06/how-the-internet-became-ridiculously-obsessed-with-avocado-toast/">2016 Washington Post article</a> pointed to Granger as the first person to put avocado toast on a menu, when he did so at his Sydney café, Bills, in 1993.</p>
<p>I love ordering the occasional avocado toast. But as a sociologist of the internet and social media, I’m most interested in the meme – its origins, how it became a point of contention and how it has ultimately muddied the waters of inequality. </p>
<h2>Avocado toast and the American dream</h2>
<p>On May 15, 2017, Australian real estate tycoon <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/09/13/australia-real-estate-ceo-tim-gurner-pain-in-economy-avocado-toast/">Tim Gurner</a> said <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/15/australian-millionaire-millennials-avocado-toast-house">in an interview</a>, “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each.”</p>
<p>Gurner’s comments implied that young people were not buying homes at the same rate as older generations due to their poor money management skills – unlike Gurner and his cohort, who understood the value of a buck and the importance of an honest day’s work. </p>
<p>No matter that minimal research revealed that Gurner’s nearly billion-dollar empire <a href="https://thiswastv.com/tim-gurner-parents/">began with financial assistance from his wealthy family</a>. The backlash on the internet was swift and searing, as Gurner became a stand-in for an entire out-of-touch generation who didn’t know how easy they had it.</p>
<p>Memes emphasized the fact that baby boomers, in general, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhe.2019.01.004">had an easier time becoming homeowners</a> compared to millennials, who largely came of age during the post-2008 economic downturn, which forced them to reckon with the crumbling remains of the American dream.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"910207147861983232"}"></div></p>
<h2>Generational tensions or class tensions?</h2>
<p>In their article “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211025724">A Sociological Analysis of ‘OK Boomer</a>,’” sociologists Jason Mueller and John McCollum describe how we’re in a period rife with confusions exacerbated by the internet. </p>
<p>They conclude that meme trends like “<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ok-boomer">OK Boomer</a>” – a phrase that Gen Z popularized as an online retort to politicians and reporters who dismissed young people – reflect a world in which generational wars online coexist with class wars offline. The avocado toast meme works in a similar way.</p>
<p>In offline reality, <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27123/w27123.pdf">there is some correlation between generations and wealth</a>. But generations are not what ultimately explain class inequality. </p>
<p>Instead, economic sociologists largely agree that a political emphasis on market “freedoms” and the concurrent paring back of programs that distribute resources have led to soaring economic inequality. These include laws that deregulated markets and privatized public spaces, as well as those that scaled back funding for health care, welfare, education and other government services. The policies first emerged under the umbrella of “<a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-090220-025543">The Washington Consensus</a>” in the late 20th century. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/telecommunications-act-1996">Telecommunications Act of 1996</a>, rather than treating emerging internet technology as a public good, <a href="https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14707">ensured the privatization of the internet</a>, paving the way for an online economy that profits off the attention and data of users.</p>
<p>Deregulation has created the conditions for today’s economic reality, in which many millennials and Gen Zers must work <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REGE-08-2021-0153/full/html">precarious jobs in the gig economy</a>. They continue to struggle to buy homes and afford rent.</p>
<p>But importantly, many baby boomers face the same economic reality. Millions of them have been forced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22694">to delay retirement</a>, particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22694">if they’re from marginalized races and genders</a>. </p>
<p>In other words, the adverse impacts of class inequality leave no generation untouched.</p>
<h2>Illusions of separation</h2>
<p>So why does it feel like most baby boomers have it so easy?</p>
<p>Cultural theorist Mark Fisher, in his 2009 book “<a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/Capitalist%20Realism_%20Is%20There%20No%20Alternat%20-%20Mark%20Fisher.pdf">Capitalist Realism</a>,” describes this moment in history as one in which “hyperreality” prevails. </p>
<p>The term, coined by <a href="https://revistia.org/files/articles/ejis_v3_i3_17/Ryszard.pdf">French post-modernist Jean Baudrillard</a> in 1981, essentially describes a state in which simulations of reality appear more “real” than reality. </p>
<p>In his book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Simulacra-Simulation-Body-Theory-Materialism/dp/0472065211">Simulacra and Simulation</a>,” Baudrillard uses the example of Disneyland to describe hyperreality. Many people would rather pay to go to Disneyland – a park built to mimic imaginary places – <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/destination-science-the-natural-world-outside-disney-world">than travel to national parks</a>, where they can experience nature for free or on the cheap.</p>
<p>The virtual world of the internet – with its own sets of cultural norms, language and memes – is the epitome of hyperreality.</p>
<p>And in the hyperreal world of the internet, as Mueller and McCollum discuss in their article about the “OK Boomer” meme, generational tensions take form.</p>
<p>Memes like avocado toast construct a state of generational conflict in the online world that is real, quite simply, because it feels real.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1011175349055623169"}"></div></p>
<p>Algorithms have every incentive to stoke this conflict. </p>
<p>That’s because online generational conflicts, along with most social media battles, <a href="https://theconversation.com/hate-cancel-culture-blame-algorithms-129402">are immensely profitable</a>. In “<a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/virality">Virality: Contagion Theory in the Age of Networks</a>,” sociologist Tony Sampson concludes that viral content usually elicits strong emotional reactions.</p>
<p>When users, old and young, are angry with one another, and express that anger in the language of memes, social media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter, get more engagement and make more money.</p>
<h2>Reframing avocado toast</h2>
<p>What Sampson finds, though, is that positive feelings also lead to virality.</p>
<p>So perhaps one way to honor Granger is to reclaim the avocado toast meme as an in-joke that nonmillionaires and nonbillionaires of all generations can relate to. </p>
<p>It’s about one billionaire’s absurd proposition that millennials eating a fleshy fruit on a piece of toast is preventing them from buying homes. It’s the billionaire divorced from the struggles of everyday people who’s out of touch – not an entire generation of boomers. </p>
<p>The avocado toast meme serves as a reminder that the hyperreal space of the internet distorts an offline reality in which generations share struggles, whether through housing insecurity or delayed retirements – a reality perpetuated by billionaires like Tim Gurner and the economic systems that serve their interests.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aarushi Bhandari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Granger, who died in December 2023, is credited with making avocado toast fashionable. Little did he know that his lasting legacy would inspire a meme that symbolized generational tension.Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180242023-12-04T02:43:41Z2023-12-04T02:43:41ZStay or go? Most older Australians want to retire where they are, but renters don’t always get a choice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563118/original/file-20231203-29-ndyftg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C29%2C4992%2C3293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-senior-couple-behind-looking-front-1075334156">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Australia’s population gets older, more people are confronted with a choice: retire where they are or seek new horizons elsewhere.</p>
<p>Choosing to grow old in your existing home or neighbourhood is known as “ageing in place”. It enables older people to stay connected to their community and maintain familiarity with their surroundings. </p>
<p>For many, the decision to “age in place” will be tied to their connection to the family home. But for many, secure and affordable housing is increasingly <a href="https://theconversation.com/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-growing-numbers-of-older-australians-are-facing-a-bleak-future-209237">beyond reach</a>. This choice may then be impeded by a lack of suitable accommodation in their current or desired neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>Our recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275231209683">study</a> asks what motivates older homeowners and renters to age in place or relocate, and what factors disrupt these preferences. It suggests older renters are often not given a fair choice.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-growing-numbers-of-older-australians-are-facing-a-bleak-future-209237">Ageing in a housing crisis: growing numbers of older Australians are facing a bleak future</a>
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<h2>Most older Australians want to age in place</h2>
<p>Having the option to age in place enables older people to retain autonomy over their lifestyles and identity, promoting emotional wellbeing. </p>
<p>Using 20 years of data from the government-funded Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we tracked the preferences of Australians aged 55 and over. </p>
<p>Encouragingly, most older Australians are already where they want to be.</p>
<p>Two-thirds (67%) of respondents strongly preferred to stay in their current neighbourhood, and an additional one-fifth (19%) had a moderate preference to stay. </p>
<p>Only 6% showed a moderate or strong desire to leave. Ageing in place is then the natural choice for a vast majority of older Australians.</p>
<p><iframe id="s3LTM" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/s3LTM/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Our study highlights several motivations for people to stay put as they retire.</p>
<p>For homeowners, family ties matter. Owners with children residing nearby were around one and a half times more likely to have a higher preference to stay. </p>
<p>Older owners might then have a reason to call on their substantial <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-housing-wealth-gap-between-older-and-younger-australians-has-widened-alarmingly-in-the-past-30-years-heres-why-197027">housing wealth</a> and keep their children nearby via the <a href="https://360info.org/how-to-help-the-young-buy-a-home/">“bank of mum and dad”</a>.</p>
<p>For renters, how long they stay is important. Those renting their home for 10 years or more were 1.7 times more likely to have a higher preference to stay than short-term renters.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-australians-to-have-the-choice-of-growing-old-at-home-here-is-what-needs-to-change-91488">For Australians to have the choice of growing old at home, here is what needs to change</a>
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<h2>Renters face the most disruption</h2>
<p>The survey enabled us to follow where older people lived a year after they provided their preferences. This helped us gauge how often they turned their desires into reality.</p>
<p>The chart below indicates that private renters face greater obstacles to ageing in place.</p>
<p>Around one in 10 private renters that desired to age in place were disrupted – they wanted to stay in their neighbourhood but didn’t. This suggests they moved out of their neighbourhood involuntarily. </p>
<p>Only 2% of homeowners and social renters experienced the same disruption. However, for those in these tenures that did not desire to age in place, involuntary immobility was a greater concern. Only 15% of those that wanted to leave succeeded, leaving the vast majority “stuck in place”.</p>
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<p>The private rental market is the least secure of tenures, and so private tenants are often exposed to involuntary moves. Australia’s private rental system is lightly regulated compared to many other countries, creating tenure insecurity concerns.</p>
<p>On the other hand, social renters were particularly susceptible to involuntary immobility. Social housing is scarce in Australia and subject to <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-housing-wait-list-of-175-000-describe-their-years-of-waiting-210705">lengthy waiting lists</a>. A neighbourhood move often requires transferring to the less affordable and less secure private rental housing. </p>
<p>Even after considering financial status, social renters were four times as likely to be stuck as compared to private renters. Social tenants are strongly deterred from moving in the current system.</p>
<h2>How can we support older Australians’ preferences?</h2>
<p>Our study exposes some barriers in the housing system that hinder people from being able to age in place, or move when they want to. Clearly, older renters enjoy fewer protections against disruptions to their preferences to age in place than older owners. </p>
<p>For private renters, tenure insecurity in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/insecure-renting-ages-you-faster-than-owning-a-home-unemployment-or-obesity-better-housing-policy-can-change-this-216364">private rental sector</a> is a key reform priority. This can be achieved through stronger regulation that improves tenants’ rights. For example, more states could adopt <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton">recent regulatory rental reforms</a> that support the rights of pet owners and protect against no-grounds evictions.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sits on a couch looking away into the distance" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563119/original/file-20231203-23-zgujw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">While social housing can provide older Australians with more security, it can also be hard to move.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bones-ache-on-weather-thoughtful-mature-1877386825">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Large numbers of older private renters also face severe <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/publications/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-older-peoples-housing-insecurity-homelessness-in-australia">rental stress</a>, which may force them to move from their preferred neighbourhood. <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-billion-per-year-or-less-could-halve-rental-housing-stress-146397">Commonwealth rent assistance reform</a> would alleviate some of this stress through an increase in rates and better targeting. </p>
<p>An increase in the supply of social housing would play an important role in improving both tenure security and housing affordability. Older social renters enjoy fewer obstacles to ageing in place than older private renters. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-older-australians-arent-in-aged-care-policy-blind-spots-mean-they-live-in-communities-that-arent-age-friendly-192591">Most older Australians aren't in aged care. Policy blind spots mean they live in communities that aren't age-friendly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, if social renters want to move into the private rental market to relocate, they face difficulty securing accommodation. This will likely discourage moves as it would require sacrificing the tenure security offered by social housing. However, policy initiatives that improve the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/sites/default/files/migration/documents/PES-358-Lessons-from-public-housing-urban-renewal-evaluation.pdf">quality of the public housing stock</a> can reduce feelings of being stuck.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/home-ownership-and-housing-tenure">homeownership rates decline</a> both among young people and those nearing retirement, we can expect the population of older renters to grow. </p>
<p>Overall, our findings support a strong case for policy reform in the rental sectors to address the needs and preferences of older renters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project FT200100422). She also receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Phelps and William Clark do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most Australians want to age at home, where they can remain connected to their communities and neighbourhoods. But what happens if you’re renting?Christopher Phelps, Research Fellow, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Curtin UniversityRachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin UniversityWilliam Clark, Research Professor of Geography, University of California, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2130502023-11-29T13:40:27Z2023-11-29T13:40:27ZThere’s a financial literacy gender gap − and older women are eager for education that meets their needs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557150/original/file-20231101-21-xv252p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C9%2C6211%2C4128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Knowledge is power − especially where money is concerned.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-woman-using-calculator-while-going-through-royalty-free-image/1672859584">Rockaa/E+/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, families across the U.S. have to make difficult decisions about budgeting, spending, insurance, investments, savings, retirement and on and on. When faced with these choices, financial literacy – that is, knowing how to make informed decisions about money – is key.</p>
<p>Yet, Americans in general <a href="https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIAA-Institute_GFLEC_P-Fin-Index-Finacial-literacy-and-wellbeing-in-a-five-generation-America_TI_Yakoboski_October-2021.pdf">aren’t very financially literate</a>. And recent research suggests <a href="https://helpageusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Report-V3-updated.pdf">women are less financially literate than men</a>, regardless of their schooling, income or marital status.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://cesr.usc.edu/people/staff/lilarabi">social scientist</a> who studies aging and the social safety net, I recently took part in a large analysis of older women’s financial literacy. My team and I found that men’s financial literacy scores were 25% higher than women’s on average, even though the two groups showed no difference in math skills or overall cognitive ability. </p>
<p>Black and Hispanic women saw an even greater financial literacy gender gap, with scores that were, on average, 40% to 45% lower than those of white, non-Hispanic men.</p>
<h2>Why financial literacy matters later in life</h2>
<p>This gap is a big problem, especially as women approach older age. Because they tend to live longer – almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.6041">six years</a> more than men, according to the latest figures – and <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24429/w24429.pdf">leave the workforce earlier</a>, women face longer retirements. </p>
<p>And when they reach retirement age, women often have <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/growing-disparities-retirement-account-savings">inadequate savings</a>, in part because they face more <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1232354">family-related career interruptions</a> and are concentrated in <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/09/art3full.pdf">lower-paying jobs</a>.</p>
<p>Consider that in 2020, women who worked full time earned a median of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/womens-earnings/2020/home.htm">US$891 a week</a>, versus men’s $1,082. Their career interruptions, lower earnings and earlier retirements mean that female Social Security recipients get <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/women-alt.pdf">only 80%</a> of the benefits that men do.</p>
<p>Financial education can’t erase the effects of decades of structural inequality, of course. But the evidence shows that it can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2753510">make a difference</a> by helping women make more informed decisions for their future.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A brief introduction to financial literacy concepts from New York University.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Demand for financial education is high</h2>
<p>Only 16% of women ages 40 to 65 have ever received any financial education, according to <a href="https://helpageusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Report-V3-updated.pdf">a survey of women my colleagues and I fielded in 2022</a>. Among African American, Native American and Asian American women, this figure falls to 8% to 10%.</p>
<p>Our survey also showed that behaviors that can help with financial security are patchy among respondents. Close to 30% never put money into an emergency fund or savings account, nearly 40% never put money into an investment or retirement account, and 60% have never talked to a financial professional. Tellingly, only 20% said they felt relaxed about their financial future.</p>
<p>But not all is doom and gloom: More than 70% of women in our survey said they were interested in receiving financial education. Demand was especially high among Hispanic/Latina (93%), Black (85%) and Asian American (80%) women.</p>
<p>Our survey respondents said they wanted to learn about long-term planning and other issues specific to their life stage, not just general money management principles. They also said they would prefer flexible programs that make it easy for busy people to participate, as well as those delivered by trusted agents in their communities, such as schools or community centers.</p>
<p>Right now, there aren’t many financial literacy programs specifically designed to address the needs of older women. But this research gives us a blueprint for future programs. Employers, financial service providers, community groups and national organizations all have an important role to play in empowering older women with the financial literacy skills they want and need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lila Rabinovich has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center, and other foundations and agencies.</span></em></p>Only a small fraction of women have received any financial education at all.Lila Rabinovich, Social scientist, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170242023-11-06T13:34:51Z2023-11-06T13:34:51ZWhy are US politicians so old? And why do they want to stay in office?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557470/original/file-20231103-25-kk1rtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C2908%2C2397&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Donald Trump, left, and Joe Biden, both photographed on Nov. 2, 2023, are two of the three oldest men ever to serve as president.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trump: Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Biden: AP Photo/Evan Vucci</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When former President Bill Clinton showed up at the White House in early 2023, he was there to join President Joe Biden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-biden-and-bill-clinton-speak-on-30th-anniversary-of-family-and-medical-leave-act">Family and Medical Leave Act</a>. It was hard to avoid the fact that it had been three decades since Clinton was in office – yet at 77, he’s somehow three years younger than Biden.</p>
<p>Biden, now 81 years old, is the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/politics/joe-biden-80th-birthday/index.html">first octogenarian to occupy the Oval Office</a> – and his main rival, former President Donald Trump, is 77. A Monmouth University poll taken in October 2023 showed that roughly three-quarters of voters think Biden is <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4233885-more-in-new-poll-likely-to-see-biden-as-too-old-than-trump/">too old for office</a>, and nearly half of voters think Trump is too old to serve. </p>
<p>My former boss, President George H.W. Bush, happily chose not to challenge Clinton again in the 1996 election. If he had run and won, he would have been 72 at the 1997 inauguration. Instead, he <a href="https://millercenter.org/president/bush/life-after-the-presidency">enjoyed a great second act</a> filled with humanitarian causes, skydiving and grandchildren. Bush’s post-presidential life, and <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/506330/americans-outlook-retirement-worsened.aspx">American ideals of retirement</a> in general, raise the question of why these two men, Biden and Trump – who are more than a decade and a half beyond the <a href="https://www.fool.com/research/average-retirement-age/">average American retirement age</a> – are stepping forward again for <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/05/a-broken-office/556883/">one of the hardest jobs in the world</a>.</p>
<h2>A trend toward older people</h2>
<p>Trump and Biden are two of the three oldest men to ever serve as president. For 140 years, William Henry Harrison held the <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/3744771-here-are-the-oldest-us-presidents-to-ever-hold-office/">record</a> as the oldest person ever elected president, until Ronald Reagan came along. Harrison was a relatively spry 68 when he took office in 1841, and Reagan was 69 at his first inauguration in 1981. </p>
<p>When Reagan left office at age 77, he was the oldest person ever to have served as president. Trump left office at age 74, making him the third-oldest to hold the office, behind Reagan and Biden.</p>
<p>According to the Census Bureau, the <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-estimates-characteristics.html">median age in America</a> is 38.9 years old. But with the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47470">average ages in the House and Senate</a> at 58 and 64, respectively, a word often used to describe the nation’s governing class is “gerontocracy.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-a-gerontocracy">Teen Vogue</a>, which recently published a story explaining the word to younger voters, defines the term as “government by the elderly.” Gerontocracies are more common among religious leadership such as <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/no-church-old-men-cardinals-called-be-grandfathers-pope-says">the Vatican</a> or <a href="https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1313938/irans-fossilized-gerontocracy-faces-the-youth-in-the-street.html">the ayatollahs</a> in Iran. They were also common in communist ruling committees such as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/soviet-gerontocracy-collapse-cautionary-tale-united-states-2022-9">Soviet Politburo</a> during the Cold War. In democracies, elderly leaders are less common.</p>
<h2>Beyond the White House</h2>
<p>Biden and Trump aren’t the only aging leaders in the U.S. It’s a bipartisan trend: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, is 72, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, is 81. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley was just reelected and has turned 90, with no plans to retire. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is 81 and hasn’t mentioned retirement at all.</p>
<p>In the House, California Democrat and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at age 83, just announced she’s running for reelection for her <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-speaker-pelosi-seek-re-election-reversing-earlier-plan-2022-01-25/">19th full term in office</a>. Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who serves as the nonvoting delegate from Washington, D.C., are both 86. Kentucky Republican Harold Rogers and California Democrat Maxine Waters are both 85. Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer is 84. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/us/politics/oldest-members-of-congress.html">list goes on</a>, and none of these politicians has indicated they’re retiring. </p>
<p>A local pharmacist on Capitol Hill made headlines a few years ago when he revealed that he was <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/11/16458142/congress-alzheimers-pharmacist">filling Alzheimer’s medication prescriptions</a> for members of Congress. Every one of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/us/politics/oldest-members-of-congress.html">20 oldest members of Congress</a> is at least 80, and this is the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/118th-congress-age-third-oldest-1789-rcna64117">third-oldest House and Senate since 1789</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man stands at a lectern with other people around him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557487/original/file-20231103-15-7lxry0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In July 2023, Sen. Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze while speaking with the media, raising questions about his age and health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-john-barrasso-reaches-out-to-help-senate-minority-news-photo/1556768368">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Delayed retirement</h2>
<p>What’s going on here? </p>
<p>Most baby boomers who delay retirement do so because they <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/032216/are-we-baby-boomer-retirement-crisis.asp">can’t afford</a> to stop working, due to inflation or lack of savings. But all of these political leaders have plenty of money in the bank – <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/majority-of-lawmakers-millionaires/">many are millionaires</a>. If they retired, they would enjoy <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30631">government pensions</a> and <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30064">health care benefits</a> in addition to Medicare. So for them, it’s not likely financial.</p>
<p>One theory is that it’s denial. No one likes to be reminded of their own mortality. I know people who equate retirement with death, often because of others they know who have passed away just after stepping down — which may explain why both <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/senator-dianne-feinstein-death/h_ad846d97416acf1e8bbaf2373d6205ab">Sen. Dianne Feinstein</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies/2020/09/18/3cedc314-fa08-11ea-a275-1a2c2d36e1f1_story.html">Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg</a> stayed so long on the job, dying while still in office at age 90 and 87, respectively.</p>
<p>For others, it’s identity-driven. Many of the senior leaders I’ve seen have worked so hard for so long that their entire identity is tied to their jobs. Plus, years of hard work means they don’t have hobbies to enjoy in their remaining years. </p>
<p>Another theory is ego. Some lawmakers think they’re indispensable – that they’re the only ones who can possibly do the job. They’re not exactly humble.</p>
<p>In the political world, their interest is often about power as well. These are the types who think: Why wouldn’t I want to keep casting deciding votes in a closely divided House or Senate, or keep giving speeches and flying around on Air Force One as president, or telling myself I’m saving democracy? </p>
<p>It’s easy to see why so few of them want to walk away.</p>
<h2>Age limits?</h2>
<p>There have been calls to impose age limits for federal elected office. After all, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1446196/download">federal law enforcement officers</a> have mandatory retirement at 57. So do <a href="https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/become-a-law-enforcement-ranger.htm">national park rangers</a>. Yet the most stressful job in the world has no upper age limit.</p>
<p>For those who think mandatory retirement is ageist and arbitrary, there are other options: Republican candidate Nikki Haley has called for <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3859468-haley-calls-for-mental-competency-tests-for-politicians-over-75/">compulsory mental competency tests</a> for elected leaders who are 75 and older, though she has said <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/time-competency-test-politicians-heres-why">passing wouldn’t be a required qualification for office</a>, and failing wouldn’t be cause for removal. A September 2023 poll shows <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4192393-mental-competency-tests-for-politicians-over-75-see-overwhelming-support-in-new-poll/">huge majorities of Americans support competency testing</a>. That way, the public would know who was sharp and who was not. Sounds like a fine idea to me.</p>
<p>So does having the generosity to step aside and think of others. And having the wisdom to realize that life is short and about more than just going to work. And having the grace to do what John F. Kennedy, the nation’s second-youngest president, once said: to <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-john-f-kennedys-inaugural-address">pass the torch to a new generation of Americans</a>.</p>
<p>My colleague professor Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/19/us-congress-presidency-gerontocracy">puts it well</a>: “I’m 70, so I have great sympathy for these people: 80 is looking a lot younger than it used to, as far as I’m concerned. But no, it’s ridiculous. We’ve got to get back to electing people in their 50s and early 60s.” And the <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4233885-more-in-new-poll-likely-to-see-biden-as-too-old-than-trump/">polling shows</a> that most Americans would say, “Amen, brother.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217024/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Kate Cary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many years beyond the average American retirement age, politicians vie for power and influence. Their constituents tend to prefer they step back and pass the torch to younger people.Mary Kate Cary, Adjunct Professor of Politics and Director of Think Again, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104552023-10-03T20:23:30Z2023-10-03T20:23:30ZLGBTQ+ Americans feel they are just getting by in retirement and face greater financial risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543816/original/file-20230821-33177-njffxw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even financially comfortable LGBTQ+ Americans may find themselves vulnerable to economic shocks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/lesbian-couple-paying-bills-and-using-laptop-at-royalty-free-image/1400799722">MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While preparing for retirement can be difficult for anyone, LGBTQ+ Americans face unique challenges that can cast a shadow over their golden years. For example, LGBTQ+ people over age 60 leave the workforce sooner, are less likely to believe that their retirement savings are on track and struggle more to pay medical bills than their straight and cisgender counterparts. They’re also twice as likely to report having experienced discrimination in the past year.</p>
<p>These findings are based on <a href="https://www.ncoa.org/article/a-profile-of-lgbtq-older-adults">our analysis</a> of data from the Federal Reserve Board’s annual <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm">Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking</a>, or SHED. We used data from 2019 to 2021 to compare the nearly 500 LGBTQ+ respondents age 60 and older with their cisgender counterparts. </p>
<p>When asked how they were managing financially, most older LGBTQ+ adults considered themselves to be either “living comfortably” or “doing OK.” However, they also said they faced big economic challenges that could threaten their long-term well-being. </p>
<p>For example, they had a harder time affording dental care. Significantly fewer LGBTQ+ respondents said they owned their home, which means they have less opportunity to build equity that can be used later in life. </p>
<p>Retired LGBTQ+ respondents were somewhat younger and more likely to leave the workforce for reasons other than reaching traditional retirement age. In fact, nearly 1 in 3 retired because of health problems, 1 in 4 retired because of disliking their work, and almost 1 in 6 said they were forced to retire. Far smaller shares of straight and cisgender respondents reported similar outcomes – for example, only 1 in 9 said they were forced to retire.</p>
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<p>We also found that a greater percentage of older LGBTQ+ adults had annual incomes under $25,000 compared with their straight and cisgender counterparts – 15% versus 12%.</p>
<p>Finally, a bigger share of LGBTQ+ older adults said they had trouble paying bills like their rent or mortgage, and many more relied on government food and housing assistance programs compared with non-LGBTQ+ older adults.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>How older LGBTQ+ adults fare during their later work years and in retirement is an issue of growing importance, since the overall LGBTQ+ population has reached an estimated <a href="https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/We-Are-Here-120821.pdf">20 million</a>, or nearly 8% of all American adults. Many younger people who identify as LGBTQ+ experience discrimination, whether <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/discrimination-and-barriers-to-well-being-the-state-of-the-lgbtqi-community-in-2022/">on the job</a> or in their <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/23/you-dont-want-second-best/anti-lgbt-discrimination-us-health-care">access to health care</a>, which can have repercussions later in life.</p>
<p>People identifying as LGBTQ+ are significantly more likely than non-LGBTQ+ respondents to experience bias while receiving or even scheduling medical care. This is consistent with other research showing that LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to report that their health care provider <a href="https://www.kff.org/report-section/lgbt-peoples-health-and-experiences-accessing-care-report/">doesn’t believe them</a>, often blames them personally for having a health problem and dismisses their concerns. Not surprisingly, such discrimination can and does lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.1184">needless sickness</a> and even early death. </p>
<p>Prejudice is also common in the workplace: According to a <a href="https://news.nationwide.com/download/1190709/nfm-22096ao.pdf">Nationwide Retirement Institute report</a>, half of LGBTQ+ employees personally experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ comments at work, which, together with other forms of discrimination, can lead to fewer advancement opportunities and pay gaps. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p><a href="https://ncoa.org/article/80-percent-of-older-americans-cannot-pay-for-long-term-care-or-withstand-a-financial-shock-new-study-shows">Recent research</a> shows that most <a href="https://ncoa.org/article/80-percent-of-older-americans-cannot-pay-for-long-term-care-or-withstand-a-financial-shock-new-study-shows">older Americans can’t afford</a> their share of health care costs or long-term care. In fact, 80% of adults age 60 or older lack the savings needed to pay for more than two years in a nursing home and would not be able to absorb a financial shock such as a major illness or home repair.</p>
<p>For older LGBTQ+ adults, who experience greater levels of discrimination and have fewer financial resources than their straight and cisgender counterparts, the proportion of those who couldn’t afford later-life expenses would surely be higher. Yet researchers still don’t know how this population fares when faced with potential financial shocks or the need for long-term care. </p>
<p>For example, given that LGBTQ+ people are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371094/#:%7E:text=As%20well%20as%20experiencing%20health,stages%20of%20life%20%5B4%5D.">less likely to have spouses or relatives</a> to serve as their caregivers, are they able to pay for long-term care if needed? Are they more likely to have to rely on institutional care rather than aging at home like their straight and cisgender counterparts? These and other questions require further study.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210455/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc Cohen receives funding from the National Council on Aging. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Tavares receives funding from the National Council on Aging.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Molly Wylie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities can face significant economic challenges with age.Marc Cohen, Clinical Professor of Gerontology and Co-Director LeadingAge LTSS Center, UMass BostonJane Tavares, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer of Gerontology, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, UMass BostonMolly Wylie, Ph.D. Candidate in Gerontology, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128672023-09-26T21:10:43Z2023-09-26T21:10:43ZAre seniors being pressured into retirement homes by lack of community services?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549798/original/file-20230922-29-uw9xz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=715%2C169%2C7881%2C5254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Retirement homes might seem like less of a lifestyle choice and more like relocation imposed upon older adults by fragmented and under-resourced primary and community care services.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/are-seniors-being-pressured-into-retirement-homes-by-lack-of-community-services" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Ads for retirement homes often feature an older couple relaxing in comfortable surroundings, playing a board game or enjoying a meal with friends. They look well — and young for their age — with broad smiles and perfect silver hair. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Collage of three photo of healthy, smiling older adults." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550125/original/file-20230925-26-eb6i3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ads for retirement homes seem to offer a worry-free lifestyle choice. Above: stock images seen in marketing materials for retirement homes in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>These ads offer worry-free, active retirement living at its fullest, complete with delicious and nutritious food. It looks like a wonderful lifestyle choice. </p>
<p>But is it really a lifestyle choice? Or, is it imposed upon older adults by fragmented and under-resourced primary and community care services?</p>
<h2>Assisted living</h2>
<p>In Canada, retirement homes (also known by other names like assisted living) are increasingly for-profit living facilities for older adults. They offer a variable range of services paid for by residents. Across Canada, <a href="https://www.comfortlife.ca/retirement-community-resources/retirement-cost">monthly fees range from $1,600 to over $6,000 for spaces ranging from 300 to 600 square feet</a>. </p>
<p>In Ontario, <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2021/2021-seniors-housing-survey-learn-more-insights">where monthly fees for retirement homes average almost $4,000</a>, at least two services must be provided, such as meals and medication administration, with additional services often available at extra cost. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two older women sitting at a table while a young man wearing an ID badge talks to them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549801/original/file-20230922-24-ripe1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In Ontario, retirement homes must provide at least two services, such as meals and medication administration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Some homes (for extra fees) offer services geared towards people with cognitive impairment, and others provide nursing and personal care to those who require physical support. Yet, these privately paid services are often not enough. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5344365/">A 2017 study</a> in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant region of Ontario showed that up to 40 per cent of retirement home residents receive publicly funded home care services, in addition to those purchased from the home. In almost one-third of these cases, retirement home residents or their caregivers said they would be better off living elsewhere, such as in long-term care (LTC) homes, where they can receive 24-hour access to nursing and personal support services. </p>
<p>In Ontario, <a href="https://www.closingthegap.ca/long-term-care-homes-vs-retirement-homes-vs-home-care-in-ontario/">retirement homes are almost exclusively private facilities</a> offering accommodations and some paid care services for less frail seniors, and they operate under less stringent regulations by the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-seniors-accessibility">Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, LTC homes provide 24/7 nursing care for more dependent individuals and are regulated and subsidized by the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-long-term-care">Ministry of Long-Term Care</a>. Retirement homes typically feature private suites or apartments, whereas LTC homes have more institutional and less private accommodations.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980820000045">A recent review of research</a> showed that the opportunity for greater social interaction in retirement homes is an important consideration for some, and consistent anecdotal reports suggest that many residents have a boost in health and well-being after moving into a retirement home. </p>
<p>However, the primary drivers of relocation are concerns over age-associated decline in health, coupled with uncertainty over being able to access services — such as assistance with property upkeep, medications or personal care — in their current home.</p>
<h2>Unmet health-care needs</h2>
<p>We still have a limited picture about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s0714980813000159">what happens when someone moves into a retirement home</a>. In contrast to the LTC sector, for which we have relatively rich information sources at the national level, there is almost no information on retirement home residents. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in a white coat with a stethoscope and clipboard stands and talks to an older woman in a chair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549799/original/file-20230922-17-vel5bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The role of primary care medical providers is not regulated in retirement homes in Ontario.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What we do know paints a mixed picture. For example, retirement home residents living with dementia, and who can afford specialized memory care services, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.002">are less likely to move to a LTC home</a>. In contrast, retirement home residents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211883">receive far fewer primary care visits</a> than those in LTC homes, and are more likely to visit the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2023.06.024">emergency department</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2015.01.079">be hospitalized</a> and experience prolonged hospital stays.</p>
<p>Clearly, the service and health-care needs of retirement home residents are not being met, nor were these being met in the community, compelling the move to a retirement home in the first place. </p>
<p>In Canada, under-resourcing of home- and community-care sectors imposes limits on where an older person can reside as their health declines, though more choices are available to those living in larger cities and able to pay for expensive private home care. Canada spends <a href="https://www.oecd.org/health/long-term-care.htm">substantially less per capita on home and community-care than the OECD average</a>. </p>
<p>Despite evidence that the medical needs of retirement home residents have been growing more complex, the role of primary care medical providers is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.012">not regulated</a>, nor is there much incentive to practice in these settings. Retirement homes look like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211883">primary care deserts</a>, with residents often having no meaningful access to their previous primary care provider due to mobility limitations in transportation to off-site clinic locations. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/preventing-delirium-protects-seniors-in-hospital-but-could-also-ease-overcrowding-and-emergency-room-backlogs-189220">Preventing delirium protects seniors in hospital, but could also ease overcrowding and emergency room backlogs</a>
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<p>Retirement home residents are more likely to be hospitalized and experience accelerated functional and cognitive decline without access to co-ordinated, senior-friendly primary care. Reliance on the limited access to community-based primary care clinics is inadequate because outside primary care providers often can’t know the environment or staff in the retirement home. </p>
<p>Common issues, like falls, can go unaddressed given that there is no one on site to do a sufficiently thorough medical falls risk assessment. Dehydration related delirium (confusion) that could be addressed on site can instead lead to hospital admission and premature institutional care. </p>
<h2>Designed for institutionalization</h2>
<p>Our health-care system <a href="http://nationalseniorsstrategy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/NSS_2020_Third_Edition.pdf">seems designed to foster premature institutionalization</a>. The retirement home sector attempts to fill a care and service gap in the community, but is progressively less able to do so as resident care needs become more complex and exceed what they can afford out of pocket.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A nurse taking a man's blood pressure on a sofa" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549800/original/file-20230922-21-pyv5pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The solution requires that publicly funded and integrated home and community services be made more accessible to older people regardless of where they choose to live.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The solution requires that publicly funded and integrated home and community services be <a href="http://nationalseniorsstrategy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/NSS_2020_Third_Edition.pdf">made accessible to older people regardless of where they chose to live</a>, whether in a retirement home or in the private residence where they have lived for years. </p>
<p>Specific attention is required for community dwelling older people with cognitive difficulties, many of whom could continue aging in place with minimal assistance for nutrition, medication management and surveillance of chronic medical conditions. </p>
<p>Interprofessional primary care (teams that include multiple health professionals such as doctors, nurse practitioners, dietitians and social workers) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10198684/">would have greater capacity to support older people with complex health issues</a>. Such teams must be made available to prevent hospitalization and its often disabling consequences. </p>
<p>Since many residents have limited capacity to travel to office visits, providing on-site access to primary care in retirement homes is simply fulfilling the promise of the Canada Health Act that reasonable access to insured health services is provided to all Canadians. </p>
<p>More home care and better access to robust primary care services will better meet the needs of older adults in the community, optimize their health and independence, and reduce the huge <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.230719">strain on our hospitals</a> and caregivers. They will also allow older people greater choice over — and ability to afford — whatever lifestyle they prefer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George A Heckman receives funding from the Schlegel Research Chair in Geriatric Medicine. The Schlegel Chair endowment was a charitable donation to the University of Waterloo, and there is no personal obligation to the donor. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Costa receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Public Health Agency of Canada for related research. He is the Schlegel Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging and Canada Research Chair in Integrated Care for Seniors at McMaster University. The Schlegel Chair endowment was a charitable donation to McMaster, and there is no personal obligation to the donor. He is Research Director of St. Joseph’s Health System's Centre for Integrated Care (Hamilton).</span></em></p>Publicly funded primary and home care should be accessible to all older adults, regardless of where they live.George A Heckman, Schlegel Research Chair in Geriatric Medicine, Associate Professor, University of WaterlooAndrew Costa, Associate Professor | Schlegel Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging | Canada Research Chair in Integrated Care for Seniors, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113182023-08-28T12:02:28Z2023-08-28T12:02:28ZThere’s no age limit for politicians − as people live longer, should that change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544368/original/file-20230823-19-gm3p1u.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C9%2C2150%2C1425&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mitch McConnell, Diane Feinstein and Joe Biden are all over 80 years old, joining a number of politicians who are staying in office well past their 70s. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com">Anna Moneymaker/Chip Somodevilla/Samuel Corum/Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Joe Biden was “<a href="https://twitter.com/WHCommsDir/status/1664347179282997258">fine</a>,” according to White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt, after tripping over a sandbag at a U.S. Air Force graduation ceremony on June 1, 2023.</p>
<p>But his fall was caught on live camera – and people on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=biden%20trips%20at%20US%20Air%20Force%20Academy">social media</a> speculated about what was behind it. </p>
<p>Biden, approaching his 81st birthday in November 2023, is the <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/3744771-here-are-the-oldest-us-presidents-to-ever-hold-office/">oldest serving U.S. president</a>. He shares the distinction of old age with a growing number of politicians, including 81-year-old U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell.</p>
<p>On Aug. 30, 2023 81-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/30/mcconnell-freeze-speaking/">froze after a reporter asked him</a> about his re-election plans. He remained silent for more than 20 seconds, his gaze distant, including after a political aide asked him if he heard the question.</p>
<p>“We’re going to need a minute,” the aide said, and a few moments later ushered the senator away from the lectern. </p>
<p>This followed a <a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/174621/hell-just-happened-mitch-mcconnell-press-conference">similar incident with McConnell</a> in July 2023. </p>
<p>Some people – from fellow Democrats to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/opinion/dianne-feinstein-senate.html">The New York Times editorial board</a> – have questioned whether McConnell and other colleagues, including <a href="https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography">90-year-old Dianne Feinstein</a>, can fulfill the duties of their jobs. With Feinstein, there have been incidents in which she stumbled over words. She began reading prepared remarks during a Senate appropriations hearing vote on July 27, 2023, until her democratic colleague, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2250078787777">Sen. Patty Murray, whispered to her, “Just say aye.”</a>’</p>
<p>Such incidents prompt the question: Can politicians be too old to serve in office? Should society make retiring at a certain age mandatory for elected officials who run the country – like presidents and senators? </p>
<p><a href="https://depts.washington.edu/bhdept/nancy-s-jecker-phd-sheher">I am a philosopher and bioethicist</a> who studies <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/ending-midlife-bias-9780190949075?cc=us&lang=en&#:%7E:text=Jecker%20coins%20the%20term%2C%20midlife,raises%20fundamental%20problems%20of%20fairness">ethics related to individual and societal aging</a>, and these questions are at the forefront of what I think about. Whatever view one takes on the ethics of age limits for politicians, voting remains the primary way to put one’s views into practice. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People in formal clothing gather around Mitch McConnell, who is at a lectern" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543790/original/file-20230821-17-76jzq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sen. John Barrasso helps Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after he froze at the microphone on July 26, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-john-barrasso-reaches-out-to-help-senate-minority-news-photo/1556768368?adppopup=true">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Minimum age requirements</h2>
<p>Requirements for U.S. presidential candidates haven’t changed since 1789, when <a href="https://guides.loc.gov/sb.php?subject_id=162830">the Constitution</a> was written.</p>
<p>Today, the life span for the average American is <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/life-expectancy">79 years</a>. But it tends to be much higher for people like politicians, who are relatively wealthy and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/about/sdoh/index.html">receive good health care</a>. </p>
<p>In the U.S., a person needs to be 35 years old or older <a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/presidential-election-process/requirements-for-the-president-of-the-united-states/">in order to be president</a>. A person must be at least 25 years old in order to serve in the House of Representatives, while the minimum age rises slightly to 30 years old for serving in the Senate. </p>
<h2>A question of maximum age limits</h2>
<p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/age-discrimination-employment-act-1967">banned age discrimination in workplaces</a> in 1967. </p>
<p>Should politicians who lead the country be an exception to this law? </p>
<p>A 2022 YouGov poll reported that <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/01/19/elected-officials-maximum-age-limit-poll">58% of Americans want</a> a maximum age for politicians. Those who support age limits usually say that politicians holding office should be no more than 70 years old. That would make <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/30/house-gets-younger-senate-gets-older-a-look-at-the-age-and-generation-of-lawmakers-in-the-118th-congress">71% of current U.S. senators ineligible</a> to hold office. It is unclear how age limits like that could be implemented. </p>
<p>Increasingly, people everywhere will be forced to confront questions about whether a person can be too old to hold public office. <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/05/aging-united-states-population-fewer-children-in-2020.html">People are living longer lives</a> in the U.S., but the same is true <a href="https://desapublications.un.org/publications/world-social-report-2023-leaving-no-one-behind-ageing-world">across the world</a>. </p>
<h2>Ethical arguments for age limits</h2>
<p>Considering age limits for high-ranking politicians poses certain ethical questions that do not have a clear answer.</p>
<p>Staying in office despite health problems can threaten public safety. An American president holds immense power – including the ability to launch nuclear weapons. Members of Congress are responsible for making laws, declaring war and controlling taxes and spending.</p>
<p>Defenders of mandatory retirement say <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9158965/#:%7E:text=Four%20important%20characteristics%20of%20the,an%20aversion%20to%20inequality%3B%20and">older people have had their turn</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, if giving everyone a fair turn is the goal, why not cap the number of years worked? Like age limits, however, capping years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12471">would disproportionately affect older workers</a> – and some say that’s unjustly discriminatory.</p>
<p>Even without age cutoffs, age could still be a way to flag other relevant factors, like health. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229160">As people age, they face heightened risk of chronic disease</a> and of having multiple chronic conditions. Chronic health problems can interfere with daily functioning and put older politicians at higher risk of performing poorly on the job –- for example, falling.</p>
<p>Testing health – or, even better, job performance – is another option. Testing workers of all ages at regular intervals avoids ageist stereotypes. </p>
<p>Biden undergoes an annual health screening and has been deemed “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Health-Summary-2.16.pdf">fit for duty</a>.” Should Feinstein and McConnell be held to the same standard? That raises the thorny question, what if physicians disagree about a politician’s health and ability to remain in office? </p>
<h2>Ethical arguments against age limits</h2>
<p>Health checks differ from compulsory retirement. </p>
<p>In rich Western countries, people do not retire because they can no longer work –retirement is not correlated with an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214452/">actual reduction in physical or intellectual capabilities</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, <a href="https://DOI.org/10.1136/jech-2015-207097">people’s health</a> tends to decline <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220857">after retiring</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josp.12471">Those who oppose compulsory retirement</a>, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-corrosive-power-of-ageism/">myself included</a>, say that mandating retirement generates ageism, or negative stereotypes based on age.</p>
<p>Experts have shown that older people are diverse, and they separate biological aging – like physical wear and tear on the body – from chronological aging.</p>
<p>In addition to stereotyping older people, forced retirement <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12471">violates principles of equality</a>. People equally able to perform a job deserve equal chances to continue to work, independent of factors unrelated to job performance, such as age, race or gender identity. </p>
<p>Supporters of age-based retirement, meanwhile, say that this policy <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Am_I_My_Parents_Keeper.html?id=hGpHAAAAMAAJ">treats people equally over time</a>, since all young people eventually become old. Yet others disagree, insisting that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/233897">the point of equality is creating a community of equals</a>, and discriminating against older adults falls short.</p>
<h2>The people decide</h2>
<p>People supporting a maximum age limit for the president and members of Congress have launched online <a href="https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-maximum-age-limit-for-congress-and-presidency">signature campaigns on Change.org</a>. But these efforts would require a constitutional amendment and have not gained major traction. </p>
<p>Two Republican senators also <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-introduces-constitutional-amendment-to-impose-term-limits-for-congress">introduced an amendment</a> to the U.S. Constitution in 2023 that would allow senators to serve only two six-year terms and Congress members to serve three two-year terms. Congress has voted down <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12343">previous proposals to set term limits</a>. </p>
<p>At the state level, <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/the-term-limited-states">16 states limit terms</a> for legislators – but not necessarily because of age concerns. Direct age limits are under consideration in South Dakota, which will <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-congressional-candidates-age-limit-e8c321aa3b180f51607899876750f066">vote in 2024</a> on a ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution and establish an upper age limit of 80 years for congressional candidates.</p>
<p>Since the government sets age minimums for Congress and the presidency, should there be maximum limits, too? This question remains open. In a democracy, we the people decide by voting.</p>
<p><em>Correction: We have updated this story to eliminate a reference to the average life expectancy in the U.S. in the late 1700s.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nancy S. Jecker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While there are minimum age requirements for people who want to hold political office in the US, there are no limits on when someone must retire.Nancy S. Jecker, Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105422023-07-28T02:07:02Z2023-07-28T02:07:02ZAustralians are living and working longer – but not necessarily healthier, new study shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539714/original/file-20230727-29-xefux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4089%2C2035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australians are living and working longer, but a longer working life doesn’t always come with equivalent gains in healthy life.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00129-9/fulltext">Our analysis</a> of change in life expectancy, health transitions and working patterns of more than 10,000 middle-aged Australians over the past two decades shows divergences in the number of years they can expect to be in good health at work and in retirement.</p>
<p>In particular, education matters. </p>
<p>Those who left school before year 12 are losing years of healthy life, with their extra years in the workforce mainly comprising years of poor health. This is opposite to the trend among people who completed high school. </p>
<p>And while men and women experienced improvements in life expectancy, on average women are not gaining extra healthy life years.</p>
<p>Australians are being encouraged to extend their working life. For this to be sustainable and equitable, government and workplaces policies will need to make allowances for the health capacity of mature-age workers. </p>
<h2>How we found our results</h2>
<p>We’ve calculated <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00129-9/fulltext">healthy working life expectancies</a> – the average number of years a person can expect to work in good health – for 50-year-olds using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. This is a longitudinal survey, meaning it seeks to interview the same households every year (about 17,000 people), enabling researchers to track life trajectories. </p>
<p>We identified two age groups within HILDA’s survey sample and followed each cohort for 10 years. The first group was 4,951 people aged 50 years and older in 2001. The second group was 6,589 people aged 50 years and older in 2011. </p>
<p>To estimate a healthy working life expectancy, we looked at how people transitioned in and out of good health and employment each year (based on survey data about their paid employment and long-term health conditions that limited participation in everyday activities).</p>
<p>By combining this with deaths data, we have calculated the average duration spent (i) working in good health, (ii) working in poor health, (iii) retired in good health, and (iv) retired in poor health. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/longevity-app-calculates-your-life-expectancy-but-will-it-make-us-healthier-145504">Longevity app calculates your life expectancy – but will it make us healthier?</a>
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<h2>Differences by education</h2>
<p>The following graphs show our results, based on expectancies at age 50. </p>
<p>We show our data in this way, rather than total healthy life and working life expectancies from birth, because we followed people from age 50 and is this is the time from which workers start to plan for and transition into retirement. </p>
<p>Typically we understand life expectancies to be calculated from birth, but they can be estimated for any age. If you live to 50, your life expectancy is greater than when you were born.</p>
<p>Our first graph shows healthy life expectancies according to school completion. These estimates reflect the cumulative number of years a person will, on average, be healthy or unhealthy from age 50. </p>
<p>Across the two cohorts, those with low education lose 0.8 years of healthy life, while those with high education gain 0.8 years of healthy life. </p>
<p>As with all statistics, there is uncertainty in these estimates. (Our original analysis includes 95% confidence intervals but we do not show them here.) </p>
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<p>These inequities are amplified in working-life expectancies, as the next graph shows. Among early school leavers, at age 50 healthy work years rose from 7.9 to 8.4 years, an increase of six months. But their years working in poor health rose from 2.7 to 3.6 years, a difference of 11 months. </p>
<p>In contrast, for those who completed year 12, at age 50 healthy work years rose from 9.6 to 10.5 years, an increase of 11 months. Their years working in poor health rose from 3.1 to 3.5 years, a difference of five months. </p>
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<p>The next graph illustrates what this means in proportional terms. </p>
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<p>The next graph shows working life expectancies by sex. Men, on average, will spend 25% of their remaining working years in poor health, and women 24%. These percentages have not changed over time. </p>
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<p>These findings are consistent with <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00026-3/fulltext">previous analyses</a> demonstrating social inequalities in health expectancies to have been maintained over time, and possibly widened in some circumstances. In that study, women with low educational attainment appeared to have had negligible improvements in life expectancy and lost healthy life years.</p>
<h2>Implications for governments and employers</h2>
<p>Australia has this month raised the age at which people qualify for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-retirement-age-just-became-67-so-why-are-the-french-so-upset-about-working-until-64-208648">age pension to 67</a>. </p>
<p>When the pension was introduced in 1908, the qualifying age was 65 for men and 60 for women. At the time, average life expectancy for Australians at birth was about <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-deaths/how-long-can-australians-live/data">55 for men and 59 for women</a>. Now it exceeds 81 for men and 85 for women (though is considerably lower for some groups, notably Indigenous Australians).</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-retirement-age-just-became-67-so-why-are-the-french-so-upset-about-working-until-64-208648">Australia's 'retirement age' just became 67. So why are the French so upset about working until 64?</a>
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<p>There’s an obvious rationale to prolong people’s working lives – to meet the challenges posed by population ageing and sustain the social security system. Nevertheless, consideration should be made for inequalities in life expectancy and health expectancy. For many ageing workers, health limitations constrain their capacity and opportunity to work.</p>
<p>To achieve longer working lives, workplaces will be need become more supportive of mature-age workers, including accommodating long-term health conditions. </p>
<p>This will likely involve addressing ageism in the workplace, increasing employer demand for older workers, creating appropriate work roles to fit the capacities and preferences of older workers, and providing pathways to lifelong education and training. </p>
<p>We may also need to rethink our idea of flexible work, which has largely centred around the needs of parents and younger workers. Many older workers will have expectations for an independent and active retirement period, and it should be possible for flexible work arrangements to accommodate this. </p>
<p>Finally, we should not discount the unpaid contributions made by many older adults through community service and providing care to loved ones.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Kiely receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). He is also a member of the Australian Association of Gerontology</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitiku Hambisa is a member of several global and local public health and ageing-related organisations, including the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG), the International Epidemiological Association (IEA), and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study network collaborator. He is also a life member of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA).</span></em></p>As governments push for longer working lives, workplaces will be need to accommodate of long-term health conditions.Kim Kiely, Lecturer, Statistics and Data Science, University of WollongongMitiku Hambisa, Senior Research Associate, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2000362023-07-19T12:22:54Z2023-07-19T12:22:54ZHip-hop and health – why so many rap artists die young<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537895/original/file-20230717-17-u3sao8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C38%2C2502%2C2483&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hip hop artists, from top left, clockwise, DMX, Lexii Alijai, Prince Markie Dee and Trugoy the Dove have all passed away within the past decade. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The song “Be Healthy” from the 2000 album by hip-hop duo dead prez, “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/dead-prez-lets-get-free/">Let’s Get Free</a>,” is a rare rap anthem dedicated to diet, exercise and temperance:</p>
<p><em>“They say you are what you eat, so I strive to eat healthy / My goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy / ‘Cause true wealth come from good health and wise ways / We got to start taking better care of ourselves”</em> </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">“Be Healthy,” from the 2000 album “Let’s Get Free”</span></figcaption>
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<p>In what’s widely recognized as <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-grammys-celebrate-50-years-hip-hop-star-performance-segment">hip-hop’s 50th anniversary</a>, an unfortunate reality is that several of its pioneering artists aren’t here to celebrate. The number of rappers who never live to see much more than 50 years themselves is astounding.</p>
<p>Rappers and rap fans can’t help but take notice that their peers and favorite rappers are dying young. Trugoy the Dove of De La Soul, 53, <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-dead-at-54.html">passed away in February 2023</a> after a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trugoy-the-dove-member-of-hip-hop-trio-de-la-soul-dies-at-54">battle with congestive heart failure</a>. Gangsta Boo, hailed as the “<a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/01/14/gangsta-boo-celebration-of-life-memphis-rap-railgarten/69804248007/">Queen of Memphis</a>” and known for her work with Three 6 Mafia, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/gangsta-boo-dead-former-three-6-mafia-rapper-dies-obituary-1235192876/">died at the age of 43</a> of a drug overdose in January 2023. Takeoff, a member of the Atlanta trio Migos, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/arts/music/takeoff-migos-dead.html">killed in November 2022</a>. He was 28 years old. </p>
<p>Rapper <a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/jim-jones-stands-on-rappers-have-the-most-dangerous-job-comment-1234672569/">Jim Jones has claimed</a> that rap is the most dangerous profession due to rappers <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/takeoff-death-hip-hop-rap-violence/672117/">being violently killed so frequently</a>. Similarly, <a href="https://www.complex.com/music/a/backwoodsaltar/fat-joe-rappers-endangeed-species-pnb-rock-death">rapper Fat Joe believes</a> rappers are an endangered species. In the 2022 song “On Faux Nem,” Lupe Fiasco put it more succinctly: “Rappers die too much.”</p>
<p>As a rapper, a fan of hip-hop’s art and artists, and a <a href="https://news.virginia.edu/content/meet-ad-carson-uvas-professor-hip-hop">professor of hip-hop</a>, I agree with Lupe Fiasco: Rappers die too much. Whether it’s from gun violence, heart disease, cancer, self-harm or drugs, the number of rappers whose lives have ended prematurely is alarming.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rap star Nipsey Hussle looks out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537537/original/file-20230714-17-t3lnuk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Rap star Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rapper-nipsey-hussle-attends-a-craft-syndicate-music-news-photo/1080924940?adppopup=true">Prince Williams/WireImage via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>The (un)exceptional spectacle of American gun violence</h2>
<p>Stories of rappers who die violently are well known. News media are quick to report on <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/01/gun-violence-has-killed-at-least-1-rapper-every-year-since-2018-2/">violence in hip-hop</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/scapegoating-rap-hits-new-low-after-july-fourth-mass-shooting-186443">support their view</a> that the music and the people who make it are exceptionally violent. Violence, death and conflict attract attention. Pair any of those with racial stereotyping and scapegoating and it’s easy to see why the murders of hip-hop stars such as Nipsey Hussle, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and countless other artists garner so much attention.</p>
<p>Though they were all taken by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/rappers-are-victims-of-an-epidemic-of-gun-violence-just-like-all-of-america-194429">very American plague of gun violence</a>, news and historical accounts often amplify the spectacle of violent Black death, even when they claim to honor those who are killed. </p>
<p>I’ve <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2021/05/24/173838383/a-letter-to-my-mother-just-in-case">written extensively</a> about the trend of scapegoating rappers. It is also the topic addressed in the song “<a href="https://aydeethegreat.bandcamp.com/track/ankh-featuring-nathaniel-star">ANKH</a>” from my forthcoming mixtap/e/ssay, “<a href="https://aydeethegreat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Illicit-Press-Release-6-23-pdf-232x300.jpg">V: ILLICIT</a>”:</p>
<p><em>“He died by the gun but they blamed the music. / They said, ‘What he said was evidence.’ And used it. …/ No compassion for the life torn apart when the bullets hit him, / cause he talked about the block in his art, so he’s not a victim. / Cameraman said, ‘They don’t value life too much.’ / He reported here before. Even twice some months. / Somewhere in his mid-twenties was his deadline (dying). / ‘Another N— Killed Here’ was the headline (crying).”</em></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 442px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=594009146/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=de270f/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless="" width="100%" height="400"><a href="https://aydeethegreat.bandcamp.com/track/ankh-featuring-nathaniel-star">ANKH (featuring Nathaniel Star) by A.D. Carson</a></iframe>
<p>An awful byproduct of this culture of consuming carnage is that the kinds of violent gun tragedies people are experiencing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2022/gun-deaths-per-year-usa/">all across the U.S.</a> are being spotlighted in hip-hop and used as <a href="https://theconversation.com/scapegoating-rap-hits-new-low-after-july-fourth-mass-shooting-186443">excuses to criminalize and pathologize</a> certain people and the music they enjoy, the art they create, the neighborhoods they live in or the places they grew up.</p>
<p>Another heartbreaking consequence is that some rappers only gain wide popularity and realize financial success <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/23/posthumous-albums-by-young-rappers-are-topping-the-charts">after they’ve died</a>. Deceased rappers are an unfortunately abundant commodity. Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke are prime examples: They both sold four to five times as much music after their deaths than when they were alive.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538103/original/file-20230718-21-dohcve.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Before and after death sales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Economist</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Along with being alarmed by these tragedies, it’s important to examine the conditions that affect mortality and attempt to get to the actual causes rather than scapegoating a musical form.</p>
<h2>Deadly diseases</h2>
<p>While violence brings about headlines, guns are not the only cause for concern. Diseases – many of them preventable – are also a factor.</p>
<p>Heart disease, lung disease, cancer, diabetes, strokes and renal disease are among the top 10 causes of death <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/lcod/men/2017/nonhispanic-black/index.htm">among Black men</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/lcod/men/2018/byrace-hispanic/index.htm">Hispanic men</a>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It makes sense that these causes also prominently figure in the deaths of hip-hop artists. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rapper Big Pun performs on stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537899/original/file-20230717-210016-dd9z7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rapper Big Pun, who sold a million albums, died at 28.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/big-pun-and-fat-joe-performing-at-les-poulets-on-may-13-news-photo/547402373?adppopup=true">Hiroyuki Ito/Hulton Archive via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gone before retirement</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/arts/music/james-yancey-producer-known-for-soulful-hiphop-dies-at-32.html">Rapper and producer J-Dilla</a> (32), rappers <a href="https://www.chron.com/entertainment/music/article/houston-rappers-remember-big-moe-dead-at-33-1797262.php">Big Moe (33)</a>, <a href="https://www.complex.com/music/a/complex/black-the-ripper-dead-at-32">Black the Ripper (32)</a> from the U.K., <a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/founding-three-6-mafia-member-lord-infamous-dead-40-199175/">Lord Infamous (40)</a>, <a href="https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.20369/title.big-hutch-releases-statement-on-passing-of-above-the-law-member-kmg?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#">KMG the Illustrator (43</a> from Above the Law, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/04/09/dmx-hip-hop-legend-dies-50-after-heart-attack/7074550002/">DMX (50)</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/big-t-death-cause-texas-rapper-age-52-wanna-be-a-baller-a8343506.html">Big T (52)</a>, <a href="https://onthisdateinhiphop.com/news/april-3-tweedy-bird-loc-passes-away-2020/">Tweedy Bird Loc (52)</a>, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/black-rob-dead-1157364/">Black Rob (52)</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/09/arts/christopher-rios-28-rapper-recorded-under-name-big-pun.html">Big Pun (28)</a> all died from heart attacks. <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/heavy-d-cause-death-pulmonary-embolism-276405/">Heavy D (44) experienced a pulmonary embolism</a> that led to his death. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/arts/music/prince-markie-dee-fat-boys-dead.html">Prince Markie Dee (52) of the Fat Boys</a> passed away from congestive heart failure. <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/craig-mack-flava-in-ya-ear-rapper-dead-at-47-127656/">Craig Mack (47)</a> died from heart failure. And Brax (21) <a href="https://variety.com/2020/music/news/brax-dead-influencer-rapper-1234823912/#">died from cardiac arrhythmia</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://ew.com/article/2016/03/23/phife-dawg-dead-dies/#">Phife Dawg (45)</a> of A Tribe Called Quest, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tim-dog-f-k-compton-rapper-dead-at-46-98451/">Tim Dog (46)</a> and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/biz-markie-dead-1191772/">Biz Markie (57)</a> all passed away from complications related to diabetes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest performs at a music festival." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537822/original/file-20230717-210447-vwdxnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2016, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest died at 45 after a long battle with Type-1 diabetes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/phife-dawg-of-a-tribe-called-quest-performs-at-2013-h2o-news-photo/176730972?adppopup=true">Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/arts/music/21guru.html">Guru (48) of Gangstarr</a>, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bushwick-bill-geto-boys-rapper-dead-obituary-846047/">Bushwick Bill (52) of the Geto Boys</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-11-07/hurricane-g-death-rapper-lung-cancer">Hurricane G (52)</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/18/arts/music/kangol-kid-dead.html#">Kangol Kid (55)</a> died from cancer. <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/dj-kay-slay-55-dead-covid-19-battle-obituary-1235060195/">DJ K Slay passed away at 55</a> from what was described as COVID-19 complications.</p>
<p>Eazy-E <a href="https://deadline.com/2021/07/the-mysterious-death-of-eazy-e-docuseries-wetv-1234793623/">died of AIDS at 30</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/music/nate-dogg-hip-hop-collaborator-dies-at-41.html#:%7E:text=He%20was%2041.,on%20the%20songs%20of%20rappers.">Nate Dogg’s death at 41</a> was attributed to a stroke. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-pimpc5feb05-story.html">Pimp C’s death at 33</a> was attributed to sleep apnea and an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/arts/06arts-DRUGSKILLEDP_BRF.html">overdose of cough syrup</a>. <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/01/28/autopsy-st-paul-rapper-lexii-alijai-died-of-accidental-overdose">Lexii Alijai (21)</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/philadelphia-rapper-chynna-rogers-dies-25-n1180051">Chynna (25)</a>, and <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/digital-underground-shock-g-cause-of-death-9585758/">Shock G (57)</a> all reportedly died of accidental drug overdose.</p>
<p><a href="https://ew.com/article/2012/07/19/ms-melodie-rapperdead-at-43/">Ms. Melodie passed away</a> in her sleep at the age of 43. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-06-18/big-pokey-death-houston-rapper-texas#">Big Pokey collapsed onstage</a> and passed away at 48. <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/whodini-john-fletcher-dead-1107571/">Ecstasy of Whodini died at 56</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Artist Ms. Melodie performs on stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=890&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1119&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1119&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537824/original/file-20230717-243941-wecfnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1119&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ms. Melodie of Boogie Down Productions passed away in 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/late-rapper-ms-melodie-of-boogie-down-productions-performs-news-photo/465938029?adppopup=true">Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A renewed focus on health</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, this list of tragic lives halted from ages 21 to 57 is not a comprehensive account of all the rappers who have passed away well before the age of retirement.</p>
<p>The occasion of celebrating 50 years of hip-hop provides a moment to reflect and honor some of the artists who contributed to the culture and are not here to celebrate this golden anniversary. It’s also, perhaps, an opportunity to consider some of the outcomes of systemic barriers to health and wellness, such as <a href="https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/access-health-services">access to affordable health care</a>, varied dietary options and mental wellness resources.</p>
<p>Given the number of rappers and other prominent hip-hop artists who have died young, ultimately it may come down to seriously taking heed to dead prez’s instructions from “Be Healthy”: “We got to start taking better care of ourselves.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A.D. Carson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As hip-hop turns 50, an unfortunate reality is that so many of its pioneering artists never live to see much more than 50 years themselves, a professor of hip-hop writes.A.D. Carson, Associate Professor of Hip-Hop, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2013582023-06-05T15:57:30Z2023-06-05T15:57:30ZRetirement reinvented: how to find fulfilment later in life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529124/original/file-20230530-15-95xzx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C0%2C6397%2C4261&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/elderly-woman-blowing-a-party-horn-7867916/">pexels/rdne stock project</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Retirement can feel like a strange time for many people. Gone is the routine of work, your time is your own – in theory. How to stop chores from taking over can become a tricky balance. Some people retreat and return to work. Often, those that persevere find they are as busy as ever – but not always with the fun leisurely activities they were looking forward to.</p>
<p>It’s strange that this is so often the case because retirement is something many of us look forward to for most of our working lives. Indeed, it’s the one time in life when you can really devote yourself to hobbies and interests, leisure and pleasure.<br>
This uncertain picture means that approaching retirement can be a time of fear – <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkudla/2020/03/13/6-ways-to-ease-your-retirement-anxiety/">retirement anxiety</a> is a real thing. So too are the <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/retirement-stress-taking-it-too-easy-can-be-bad-for-you">retirement blues</a>. </p>
<p>When you add in potential health concerns and financial worries, it’s maybe not surprising that a recent survey found that more than half of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/money/more-than-half-of-over40s-feel-anxious-about-retiring-survey-suggests-b2146484.html">over-40s feel anxious about retiring</a>.</p>
<p>One retirement challenge is how to replace the <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ger-2020-0109/html#:%7E:text=We%20find%20that%20retirement%20changes,effect%20on%20the%20network's%20size.">friendships</a> you make through work. Indeed, it seems the people who fare best in retirement find ways to cultivate connections. </p>
<p>The longest-running <a href="https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/">study on human happiness</a> found the thing that makes us most happy in life is our relationships and positive social connections – they also help us to live longer too. Indeed, this 85-year-old Harvard study shows that maintaining quality relationships has a huge benefit for our physical and mental health and wellbeing.</p>
<p>Similarly, the charity The Centre for Better Ageing has found that <a href="https://ageing-better.org.uk/resources/later-life-2015-executive-summary">social connections</a> are just as important as money and health to a good later life.</p>
<h2>Beyond routine</h2>
<p>When it comes to retirement anxiety, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71672-1_2">my research</a> with retirees shows that most people who have been retired for several years learn to manage their concerns and develop <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71672-1_5">satisfying and interesting lives</a>. </p>
<p>As with a lot of us, most of their time was taken up with home-based chores, self-care, looking after friends and relatives and serving the community – along with working really hard to keep fit, so as to “age well”.</p>
<p>But my research also found that negative notions of ageing can <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-71672-1">become internalised</a> and prevent people from having fun and making new connections. </p>
<p>In my study, people said they were conscious that others might judge the <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm:978-3-030-71672-1/1?pdf=chapter%20toc">suitability of their leisure choices</a>. While some rebels could only really enjoy a pastime if they knew their children would disapprove (think daytime drinking, gambling, watching TV, cycling on busy roads in a rainstorm and flirting with strangers), most were limited in their leisure choices by this concern.</p>
<p>Several did not have any pastimes they enjoyed. <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71672-1_6">Those who found a balance</a> had rich and varied leisure lives, but they preferred people from their own age group and a similar background, where they were less likely to be told how amazing they are, for their age.</p>
<h2>From anxiety to adventure</h2>
<p>While mixing with people from similar backgrounds and age groups can feel safe and comfortable. It can also mean you miss out on new and interesting experiences or having your worldviews challenged or expanded by spending time with different people</p>
<p>Retirement is the ideal opportunity to mix things up and gently expand your leisure repertoire. It’s a time to embrace the convivial in the presence of others, not just the usual people you see. </p>
<p>If you are happy with your leisure life, great. But if there is a little something missing, a little fun that could enhance it, consider adding in something new. Think outside the box of what’s “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-71672-1_5">suitable for your age group</a>”, (what does that even mean?). Indeed, age should not be a barrier to anything, age discrimination is illegal. So if you’re interested then it’s suitable.</p>
<p>If you have limited resources learn a language with <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/">Duolingo</a> in five minutes a day. Then when you’re ready, find a language conversation group and join them for a social event. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Collage of older people doing fun activities." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529122/original/file-20230530-17-fp17wr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Think of all the things you could do – then go and try one of them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.pexels.com">Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Learn a song, you can do it yourself using YouTube tutorials. If you enjoy that, you could join a community choir, or drag your friends and family to a karaoke night. You could even pick up an instrument and see how it feels to add percussion. Alternatively, perfect a dance at home and if you like it try a dance class – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe4xqYSoiUo">pole dancing</a> has become very popular.</p>
<p>If you have a bit more time to spare, explore taking an interest to the next level. There are local groups for many activities, including rowing, climbing, circus skills, martial arts and horse riding – what takes your fancy?</p>
<p>Not an “organised group” person? Try Frisbee, a boomerang, kite flying, bike rides, skateboarding or roller skating. You don’t have to be with people, just being around them is interesting. </p>
<p>For more sedate options consider a cinema club, jazz club, poetry group, or start a quiz team. If you like the TV show <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-pottery-throw-down">The Great Pottery Throw Down</a> join a ceramic studio and unlock your inner creativity. If you have a free afternoon or evening, look at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/">Eventbright</a> and try something random, because we don’t really know what we love until we find it.</p>
<p>Nothing has to be a lifelong commitment. If you like it, carry on, if not, then move on to something else. Anything you try will make a good story to tell the younger people in your life – they need to know that later life is an adventure worth working towards. </p>
<p>So defy expectations, knock down those mental barriers and try something different. Start today and see where it takes you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tania Wiseman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Unlocking the full potential of retirement: embracing fun, connections and new experiences.Tania Wiseman, Associate Professor, Head of Therapies , Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2064622023-06-01T12:31:37Z2023-06-01T12:31:37ZGetting Social Security on a more stable path is hard but essential – 2 experts suggest a way forward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528714/original/file-20230528-19-7mz301.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=54%2C39%2C5166%2C3475&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No big Social Security reforms have taken effect since the Reagan administration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-reagan-speaks-before-signing-the-social-security-news-photo/568872063">David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social Security is in trouble. </p>
<p>The retirement and disability program has been running a cash-flow deficit since 2010. Its trust fund, which holds US$2.7 trillion, is rapidly diminishing. Social Security’s trustees, a group that includes the secretaries of the departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Social Security commissioner, project that the trust fund will be <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2023/tr2023.pdf">completely drained by 2033</a>. </p>
<p>Under current law, when that trust fund is empty, Social Security can pay benefits only from dedicated tax revenues, which would by that point cover about <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/tr23summary.pdf">77% of promised benefits</a>. Another way to say this is that when the trust fund is depleted, under current law, Social Security beneficiaries would see a sudden 23% cut in their monthly checks in 2034. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=CwMgD5QAAAAJ">As economists</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y0lrTOoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">study the Medicare and Social Security programs</a>, we view the above scenario as politically unacceptable. Such a sudden and dramatic benefit cut would anger a lot of voters. Unfortunately, the actions necessary now to avoid it – like raising taxes or cutting benefits – aren’t getting serious consideration today. But we believe there are strategies that could work.</p>
<p><iframe id="QOa9h" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QOa9h/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Where the money for benefits comes from</h2>
<p>Roughly <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/basicfact-alt.pdf">67 million Americans, most of whom are 65 or older</a>, receive Social Security benefits. The agency <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2021/#8-2021-2">disburses more than $1 trillion annually</a>. It’s the government’s largest single expenditure, constituting nearly <a href="https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/federal-spending/">20% of the total federal budget</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/taxRates.html">Social Security is funded</a> by a payroll tax of 12.4% on wages split equally between workers and employers. Self-employed people pay the entire 12.4%. This payroll tax applies to earnings up to $160,200 as of 2023. The government increases this cap annually based on increases in the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/national-average-wage-index-nawi.asp">National Average Wage Index</a> – a measure that combines wage growth and inflation. The program also receives about 4% of its revenue from a <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2023/tr2023.pdf">tax on Social Security benefits</a>, though not everyone who receives them has to pay this tax.</p>
<p>Social Security tax revenue stayed relatively flat after 1990. But the costs of the program rose sharply in 2010, in part because of early <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716213499535">retirements in response to the Great Recession</a>.</p>
<p>Social Security spending has recently been growing more rapidly because of a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/09/the-pace-of-boomer-retirements-has-accelerated-in-the-past-year/">wave of baby boomer retirements</a>, which added to a decline in the <a href="https://retirementincomejournal.com/article/does-social-security-use-the-wrong-dependency-ratio">number of workers per retiree</a>.</p>
<p>Costs of the program are expected to further exceed the money that’s coming in, which will <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2023/tr2023.pdf">continue to drain the trust fund</a>, according to the program’s trustees. </p>
<p>Barring immediate action by the government, the trust fund’s exhaustion is only a little more than a decade away. And yet few members of Congress seem willing to do something about it. For example, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/3835082-mccarthy-social-security-medicare-cuts-off-the-table/">Social Security reform was not even</a> on the table during the 2023 negotiations over the debt ceiling and spending cuts.</p>
<h2>Trust fund</h2>
<p>Where did the trust fund, which helps cover the program’s costs, come from?</p>
<p>While the Social Security program was collecting surpluses from 1984 to 2009, that extra money funded other spending – keeping other taxes lower than they would have been otherwise and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/historical-tables/">partially covering the budget deficit</a>.</p>
<p>During Social Security’s years of surplus, the excess revenues were credited to the trust fund in the form of <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/specialissues.html">special-issue government bonds</a> that yielded the prevailing interest rates. When those bonds are needed to pay for Social Security expenses, the Treasury redeems them.</p>
<p>Those bonds are components of the <a href="https://www.crfb.org/papers/qa-gross-debt-versus-debt-held-public">government’s $31.4 trillion gross debt</a>. </p>
<h2>Last reformed during the Reagan administration</h2>
<p>Reducing the benefits current retirees receive would be extremely unpopular. Likewise, people now in the workforce who are nearing retirement would certainly object strongly if they were told to expect lower benefits in retirement than they have been promised throughout their careers.</p>
<p>The last time the government made big changes to Social Security was in 1983, during the Reagan administration, when the government enacted reforms that <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/1983amend.html">slowly reduced benefits over time</a>. These changes included raising the full retirement age, a change that is <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html">still being phased in</a>. Because of those changes, workers born in 1960 or later cannot retire with full benefits until age 67 – two years later than the original retirement age.</p>
<p>The 1983 reforms also included increases in the Social Security payroll tax rate from 10.4% in 1983 to 12.4% by 1990, and for the first time levied federal income taxes on higher-income retirees’ benefits. Workers bore the burden of the payroll tax increases and <a href="https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-02471">higher-income retirees bore the burden of the tax on benefits</a>.</p>
<p>Those changes bolstered the program’s finances, but they no longer suffice.</p>
<p>The bipartisan <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/reports/pcsss/pcsss.html">2001 Commission to Strengthen Social Security</a> tried – and failed – during George W. Bush’s presidency to get Congress to enact reforms to shore up the program’s finances. There’s been no momentum toward resolving the problem since then.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with gray hair sits at a table in front of a giant replica of a Social Security card." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529392/original/file-20230531-27-mc2adl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">George W. Bush sought to reform Social Security early in his presidency.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/george-bush-speaks-about-social-security-during-a-news-photo/525606778">Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>4 principles</h2>
<p>We believe that policymakers and lawmakers need to follow four principles as they consider how to move forward.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The program should be self-funded in the long run so that its annual revenues match its annual expenses. That way the many questions that arise related to trust fund accounting and whether Social Security tax revenues are being used for their intended purposes would be eliminated. </p></li>
<li><p>The reform burden should be shared across generations. Current retirees can share the burden through a reform that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment. Today’s workers can share the burden through an increase in the cap on income subjected to Social Security taxes so that 90% of total earnings are taxed. Continued gradual increases in the retirement age to keep pace with <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-07/57975-demographic-outlook.pdf">anticipated longevity gains</a> would also be borne by current workers. </p></li>
<li><p>The government should make sure that Social Security benefits will be adequate for lower-income retirees for years to come. That means reforms that slow the benefit growth of future retirees would be designed to affect only higher-income retirees. </p></li>
<li><p>Any changes to Social Security should help constrain the future growth of federal spending, given the <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58946#_idTextAnchor004">current and projected growth in the budget deficit</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Advantages of ending the delay</h2>
<p>It appears that the U.S. – citizens and elected officials included – are deferring serious debate on this urgent matter until the trust fund’s depletion is imminent. That’s unwise. Acting sooner rather than later would leave more options available to gradually resolve the program’s financial shortfalls. </p>
<p>Ending this procrastination would also give the millions of people who rely on Social Security benefits, taxpayers and businesses more time to prepare for any changes required by overdue reforms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Rettenmaier does not work for, consult, or own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article. He has received funding from the American Enterprise Institute, the Bradley Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, and the National Center for Policy Analysis. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dennis W. Jansen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If Congress and the White House fail to take action, Social Security beneficiaries would see a sudden 23% cut in their monthly checks in 2034.Andrew Rettenmaier, Executive Associate Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M UniversityDennis W. Jansen, Professor of Economics and Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2001582023-04-14T12:16:52Z2023-04-14T12:16:52ZSocial Security may be failing well over a million people with disabilities – and COVID-19 is making the problem worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520945/original/file-20230413-367-pgvlmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C124%2C3410%2C2192&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social Security has two programs aimed at helping those with disabilities. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/social-security-royalty-free-image/1214329962?phrase=social%20security%20disability">Kameleon007/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>More than half of U.S. adults over the age of 50 with work-limiting disabilities – likely over 1.3 million people – do not receive the Social Security disability benefits they may need, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279422000745">new peer-reviewed research I conducted</a>. In addition, those who do receive benefits are unlikely getting enough to make ends meet. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/disability">Social Security Administration operates two programs</a> intended to provide benefits to people with disabilities: Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, the latter of which hinges on financial need. Their shared goal is to ensure that people with work-limiting disabilities are able to maintain a decent standard of living.</p>
<p>I think it’s fair to say that if a disability benefit is truly available to those who need it, then a large portion of people with work-limiting disabilities should actually receive the aid. </p>
<p>To learn if that is true for the disability programs, I analyzed data over time from a long-running survey of adults older than age 50 called the <a href="https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/about">Health and Retirement Study</a>. The survey included information on disabilities and finances for tens of thousands of people from across the country and was linked to disability benefit records from the Social Security Administration. As the disability programs primarily serve those in their working years, I only looked at people who hadn’t yet hit <a href="https://www.nasi.org/learn/social-security/retirement-age/">the full retirement age</a>.</p>
<p>The data showed that the share of people with substantial work-limiting disabilities who received Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income benefits or both rose from 32% in 1998 to 47% in 2016, which was the last year the data was available. This is just a little above the average among <a href="https://share-eric.eu">27 high-income countries</a> I compared the data with. </p>
<p>Using the most recent <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-national-detail.html">Census data</a>, I estimate that more than half of those with work-limiting disabilities between the ages of 50-64 — about 1.35 million people — likely need these benefits but aren’t getting them.</p>
<p>I also examined the generosity of disability benefits in the U.S. by using <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/data-science/regression-analysis/">regression analysis</a>, a statistical tool that allowed me to compare the relationship between multiple variables. This helped me identify whether disability benefit recipients experience greater difficulty achieving financial security compared with adults who are not on benefits but have similar social and demographic backgrounds. </p>
<p>I found that those receiving benefits, and particularly Supplemental Security Income, struggled more and experienced less financial security than their peers. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2013.12.001">Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults</a> who head a household will report a severe disability that limits their ability to work at some point in their lives. </p>
<p>Many will look for financial support from Social Security’s disability programs, which <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/">together provide benefits</a> to more than 12 million people in 2023. </p>
<p>The Disability Insurance program, established in 1956, provides benefits to those who meet a specific <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1505.htm">definition of disability</a> and have paid Social Security payroll taxes. The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/dib-g3.html">average payment as of February 2023</a> was $1,686 per month. </p>
<p>The Supplemental Security Income program, established in 1972, pays cash benefits to adults and children who also meet the definition of disability and who have financial need. The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/SSI.html">maximum payment as of 2023</a> was $914, though <a href="https://eligibility.com/state-disability-insurance">some states supplement this</a> with their own programs. </p>
<p>My research suggests that well over 1 million people with disabilities who face substantial barriers to employment are not getting the assistance they need. But what’s more, even those who receive benefits are likely not getting enough. <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/rsnotes/rsn2022-01.html">Past research</a> shows that more than 20% of Disability Insurance recipients and 52% of Supplemental Security Income recipients live in poverty despite receiving these benefits.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>This research looked at data from 2016 and earlier, but a lot has changed since then. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/05/social-security-disability-benefit-offices-backlog-breaking-point/">Chronic understaffing</a> at benefit offices — long-running but worse since the COVID-19 pandemic began — are making benefits harder to get at a time of growing need. An <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w30435">estimated 500,000 people</a> are experiencing disabilities as a result of long COVID. And those experiencing it report having <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/25/business/long-covid-workforce-issues-disability-claims/index.html">even more trouble receiving benefits</a>. </p>
<p>So the problem is probably worse today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zachary Morris received funding for this research from the Steven H. Sandell Grant Program for Retirement and Disability Research funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) through the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. </span></em></p>More than half of working-age adults over 50 with a work-limiting disability didn’t receive any benefits from Social Security in 2016.Zachary Morris, Assistant Professor of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2019502023-04-04T03:01:19Z2023-04-04T03:01:19ZShould I put more money into my super? What are the benefits and can I take it out before retirement if I need it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515682/original/file-20230316-255-780950.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5511%2C3663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Superannuation is never far from the headlines lately, with the government recently calling for <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-361383">views</a> from the public on what the objective of super should be. </p>
<p>The basic idea behind super is you set aside a portion of your pay over your working life, so you can build up a nest egg to see you through your retirement years. </p>
<p>But what if you’re worried you might not have enough super by the time you retire? Yes, you could top up your super now and watch the nest egg grow through the magic of <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/saving/compound-interest">compound returns</a> – but what are the downsides?</p>
<p>If you’re considering putting more money into your super, and want to know more about how the whole system works, here are the basics.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tax-free-super-for-the-super-rich-is-a-bad-deal-for-the-rest-of-us-and-morrison-said-it-first-200706">Tax-free super for the super rich is a bad deal for the rest of us – and Morrison said it first</a>
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<h2>What are the rules about putting more money into my super?</h2>
<p>First, make sure you know where your superannuation actually is and how much you’ve got so far. This <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/forms/searching-for-lost-super/">page</a> from the Australian Tax Office explains how to search for any lost super.</p>
<p>The next thing to know is there are <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/in-detail/growing-your-super/super-contributions---too-much-can-mean-extra-tax/?page=2#Understanding_contribution_caps">limits</a> to how much you can contribute into superannuation. </p>
<p>There are two types of super contributions you can make.</p>
<p>The first category is called “<a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/grow-your-super/super-contributions">concessional contributions</a>”. These are taxed at 15%, which may be lower than the tax you’d otherwise have to pay on that money. So making these super top-ups can not only grow your nest egg, but save you tax.</p>
<p>The amount of concessional contributions you can make is A$27,500 per annum. That figure includes all the super your employer puts in your super account and any extra contributions you make under a salary sacrifice scheme or where you are claiming an income tax deduction.</p>
<p>The second category, known as “non-concessional contributions”, means money you pay into your super <em>without</em> claiming a tax deduction. This could be, for example, money from savings, an inheritance or a lottery win.</p>
<p>There is a limit of $330,000 over three years (or $110,000 per year), for these contributions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man looks at a computer with concern." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515690/original/file-20230316-26-zbiobu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do you know where your super is?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/4-EeTnaC1S4">Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What are the benefits of topping up my super?</h2>
<p>Two words: compound returns.</p>
<p>Compound returns are where you earn returns not only on the original investment you put in, but also on any returns on that investment. As the government’s <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/saving/compound-interest">Moneysmart</a> website puts it, “you get interest on your interest”.</p>
<p>Over the years, this means you could earn a lot more than you would if you didn’t top up your super. </p>
<p>How much more? Well, it depends on the investment return and fees of your fund.</p>
<p>But as an example: thanks to compound returns, putting an extra $100 per month into your super from age 30 could <a href="https://www.calc.help/industrysuper/add-extra-to-your-super">mean you retire</a> with an extra $65,000 in your account (here, I’ve assumed investment returns of 7.5%, accumulation inflation of 4% and salary inflation of 4%).</p>
<p>And the longer it is there, the more it will grow – so starting top-ups early might pay off. </p>
<p>This is particularly important for <a href="https://theconversation.com/spirals-and-circles-snakes-and-ladders-why-womens-super-is-complex-103763">women</a>, whose super balances may look a bit feeble if they take parental leave or cut their hours while raising a family.</p>
<p>Then there’s the tax benefits of super top-ups. If you would normally pay a net tax rate higher than 15% on investments such as shares, your money will grow more quickly inside superannuation than shares.</p>
<p>You may also be eligible for government co-contributions that add to your balance if you make a non-concessional contribution during the year and your income is less than $57,016. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three people look at their screens." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517335/original/file-20230324-20-9bg5cv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Starting top-ups early might pay off, so don’t ignore super until you are close to retirement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-female-friends-using-mobile-and-laptop-in-modern-cafe-4350214/">Photo by Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what’s the downside? Can I access my superannuation before retirement?</h2>
<p>Basically, no. You must meet a “<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/in-detail/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/withdrawing-your-super-and-paying-tax/?page=2#Conditionsofrelease">condition of release</a>” before being able to access your superannuation.</p>
<p>The most common is retirement, defined as reaching the age of 65 or leaving work after reaching “preservation age” (which is 60 for anyone born after July, 1964).</p>
<p>There are some <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/Withdrawing-and-using-your-super/Early-access-to-your-super/">special circumstances</a> where you may be able to access your superannuation early.</p>
<p>These are very narrow, and include serious financial hardship or necessary medical treatment that cannot be funded any other way. </p>
<p>Death or terminal illness also qualify for release. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-pay-off-the-mortgage-asap-or-top-up-my-superannuation-4-questions-to-ask-yourself-170470">Should I pay off the mortgage ASAP or top up my superannuation? 4 questions to ask yourself</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>But what if I need a deposit for a house?</h2>
<p>This is a dilemma for non home-owners. After compulsory superannuation guarantee deductions and HECS-HELP, it may be hard to save a deposit.</p>
<p>One of the few circumstances where you access your superannuation early is through the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/">First Home Super Savers Scheme</a>. </p>
<p>If you make voluntary contributions, you may be able to withdraw these contributions for a home deposit. </p>
<p>However, this scheme is very tightly regulated. You can read more about the rules for this scheme <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/">here</a>.</p>
<h2>So… should I put more money into my super?</h2>
<p>It depends. If you do, make sure you understand you will not be able to access that money until retirement.</p>
<p>If you own your home (or intend to rent until retirement) you may want to put more into superannuation while you can afford it, knowing it is contributing to a secure retirement. </p>
<p>But if home ownership is your goal, you should think carefully about choosing between superannuation and saving for a home deposit.</p>
<p><em>Note: the contribution caps and rates used in this article are for the year ending June 30, 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Hodgson has received funding from the ARC, AHURI and CPA Australia. Helen is the Chair of the Social Policy Committee and a Director of the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) and on the Gender and Career Progression Committee of CPA Australia (WA Division). Helen was a Member of the WA Legislative Council in WA from 1997 to 2001, elected as an Australian Democrat. She is not a current member of any political party. She is a Registered Tax Agent and a member of the SMSF Association, CPA Australia and The Tax Institute.</span></em></p>If you’re considering putting more money into your super, and want to know more about how the whole system works, here are the basics.Helen Hodgson, Professor, Curtin Law School and Curtin Business School, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2019642023-03-16T15:47:20Z2023-03-16T15:47:20ZThree ways the ‘back to work’ budget will affect your finances<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515807/original/file-20230316-16-qc1ez4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=162%2C108%2C5844%2C3899&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Calculating how the budget will affect your finances.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-entrepreneur-using-calculator-pen-her-710912206">Atstock Productions/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2023/spring-budget-2023-html">2023 spring budget</a>, UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a raft of measures designed to boost economic growth and productivity. To achieve this he has overhauled both pensions and childcare support, which will have implications for current and future personal finances.</p>
<p>The Chancellor wants to encourage the UK’s <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/economicinactivity/datasets/economicinactivitybyreasonseasonallyadjustedinac01sa">8.9 million “economically inactive”</a> working age people back into the labour force. As the chart shows, this means focusing mainly on those who are retired, ill or caring for children.</p>
<p><strong>Reasons for not working</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Number of people aged 16 to 64 who are economically inactive." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515804/original/file-20230316-26-3ydjqh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/economicinactivity/datasets/economicinactivitybyreasonseasonallyadjustedinac01sa">Author provided based on data from the Office for National Statistics</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even if you aren’t in one of these groups, the new changes could affect your finances or working life in three key areas:</p>
<h2>Tax-related retirement benefits</h2>
<p>From April 6 2023, the overall annual limit on contributions for pension savings will rise to £60,000 from £40,000. The cap on the total pension saving a person can have over their lifetime, currently £1,073,100, will also be abolished. These changes target the particular problem of high earners, <a href="https://www.day-accountants.com/news/blog/archive/article/2019/June/the-nhs-pension-tax-trap-and-how-to-escape-it">such as doctors</a> quitting the labour market early to avoid a hefty clawback of pension tax reliefs when they exceed these caps if they work for longer and therefore the value of their pension savings keeps growing.</p>
<p>Pension tax reliefs typically benefit rich people the most. Back in January, it was estimated that income tax relief on pensions this year would total <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs">£51.7 billion</a>. That’s a fifth of the <a href="https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR-EFO-March-2023_Web_Accessible.pdf">£249.8 billion</a> total income-tax revenue, and broadly speaking <a href="https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/media/3516/20200623-ppi-bn122-tax-relief-on-dc-contributions-final.pdf">around half of that relief goes to the richest 15%</a> of people.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/35664068.pdf">Research suggests</a> that pension tax reliefs do not increase the total level of saving, they merely cause savers to switch into pensions from forms of saving that aren’t subject to tax relief. This calls into question the rationale for spending such large sums of taxpayer money on subsidising the savings of wealthy people who would most likely set aside enough for retirement anyway.</p>
<p>Instead, it is time for a wholesale redesign of the pension tax system to target support where it is genuinely needed. For example, <a href="https://wbg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Pensions_-Autumn-2021-pre-Budget-Briefing.pdf">topping up the pensions of people (mostly women) engaged in unpaid caring work</a> -– and in the process a simpler, more targeted system without the need for complicated annual caps could remove the side-effect of high earners retiring early.</p>
<p>A more widely useful pension-tax change helps anyone who chooses to “flexibly” access pensions savings, for example, by drawing out money from age 55 onwards – maybe to cope with an emergency or the current cost of living crisis. While you might intend to rebuild your retirement savings later, there will be a limit on how much you can continue to save tax free. From April, this limit will be £10,000 per year, under the latest budget, up from £4,000 annually at the moment. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-last-two-recessions-hit-young-people-hardest-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself-for-the-next-one-184783">The last two recessions hit young people hardest – here's how you can protect yourself for the next one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Reduced childcare costs</h2>
<p>Targeting the 1.7 million economically inactive who are engaged in unpaid care work at home, the budget includes a phased extension of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare#:%7E:text=You%20can%20get%2030%20hours,this%20is%20something%20they%20offer.">30-hours-a-week free childcare scheme</a> for children aged one and two in working families. The government seems to have paid heed to advice to address <a href="https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/government-underfunding-drives-rising-childcare-costs-cost-living-crisis-hits-early-years-sector-new">the woeful underfunding of free childcare places</a> and has said it will increase this - for example, by an average of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/spring-budget-2023-speech">30% at the two-year-old rate</a>- which will hopefully prevent the closure of more nurseries.</p>
<p>Working parents on universal credit can currently claim back 85% of childcare costs up to a limit of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-and-pension-rates-2023-to-2024/benefit-and-pension-rates-2023-to-2024">£646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children</a>. In a welcome move, the budget will enable the costs to be claimed in advance rather than arrears. This removes the barrier of needing to find a substantial sum to cover childcare payments up-front before being able to start a job. </p>
<p>The upper limits are also being increased to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 for two or more. However, this will have only a limited impact since <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/early-years-and-childcare-england-public-spending-private-costs-and-challenges-ahead">few families claim anything near the maximum amount</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman and child drawing, close up, pens, paper," src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515806/original/file-20230316-22-wv5m9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New budget measures aim to help working people with the cost of childcare.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mom-child-drawing-kitchen-black-mother-435546280">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Help for those with long-term health conditions</h2>
<p>The recent budget included <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2023-disability-white-paper-factsheet/spring-budget-2023-factsheet-disability-white-paper">a white paper setting out carrots and sticks</a> to get people with long-term health conditions back into work. </p>
<p>The paper outlines a plan for more employment support for people with disabilities and health conditions. This includes nationwide “work coach” support provided via Jobcentres, an extension to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/work-health-programme">Work and Health Programme</a>, which helps people find jobs if they are in certain categories such as refugees, care leavers, homeless, ex-armed forces reserves or are living with disabilities. A new “in-work progression offer” is designed to persuade people in work on universal credit, including people with disabilities, to increase their earnings and move into better-paid roles.</p>
<p>The government also seems to be setting great store in the opportunities opened up by the growing trend towards hybrid and home working. But <a href="https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/health-and-disability-white-paper-support-not-sanctions-needed-says-dr-uk">health and disability charities</a> are concerned that these measures could be used to force people into unsuitable jobs.</p>
<p>Overall, these measures clearly aim to retain people in work or entice them back. But the government should remember that ill health can make it very hard or impossible to commit to regular work. And many of those who are caring for their children or others or who have already retired may be doing so by choice rather than because they see barriers in the way of working.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201964/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonquil Lowe is affiliated with Women's Budget Group.</span></em></p>To encourage the ‘economically inactive’ back to work, the government is changing pensions, childcare funding and creating more support for people with long-term illnesses.Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006952023-03-09T13:39:38Z2023-03-09T13:39:38ZTeacher pensions are becoming a bigger share of educational costs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513265/original/file-20230302-24-d8akfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C5018%2C3358&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teacher pensions cost nearly $66 billion in 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teacher-holding-a-stack-of-books-royalty-free-image/57012360?phrase=retired%20teacher&adppopup=true">Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The 2022 stock market plunge has taken a toll on some of the nation’s <a href="https://www.pionline.com/section/returns-tracker">largest state and municipal pension funds</a>, making it harder for governments to pay for future retirement benefits to millions of K-12 teachers and other public employees.</em></p>
<p><em>Here, <a href="https://education.wayne.edu/profile/aa0901">Michael Addonizio</a>, an education policy expert at Wayne State University, provides insight on how teacher pensions are affecting K-12 school budgets overall and what, if anything, can be done to better manage pension systems and close funding gaps.</em></p>
<h2>1. Is there enough money to pay teacher pensions?</h2>
<p>Yes and no. There is enough money to pay pension benefits to current retirees. But there is not enough money to pay all promised benefits to future retirees. </p>
<p>U.S. teacher pension funds collectively manage <a href="https://equable.org/teacher-pensions-in-2022/">about US$3 trillion in assets</a>. These dollars are invested in various ways – stocks, bonds, real estate, foreign currency, and other ways. But these assets held by the retirement plans are generally less than the plans’ liabilities – that is, the projected cost of benefits promised to future retirees. As of 2022, this gap between assets and liabilities is <a href="https://equable.org/teacher-pensions-in-2022/">about $878 billion</a>. Put another way, the ratio of assets to liabilities is about 77%. This ratio is down from about 84% in 2021, but is higher than any other year since 2008.</p>
<p>The amount spent on teacher retirement costs in 2020 – <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">$65.9 billion</a> – represented 5.5% of total state and local K-12 spending. </p>
<p>The problem is that these <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">retirement costs have been growing faster</a> than total K-12 expenditures for decades. In 2001, retirement costs amounted to only 1.3% of total state and local school spending. </p>
<p>The growth in teacher retirement costs is due mostly to an increase in payments for unfunded pension liabilities, often referred to as pension debt. This is the amount of money that states and municipalities pay annually into their retirement systems to cover previously unfunded liabilities – that is, the shortfall that a pension fund needs to pay all future promised benefits.</p>
<h2>2. How do these pension funding shortfalls occur?</h2>
<p>Every year, pension planners have to make assumptions about how fast teacher salaries will grow, how many teachers will teach long enough to qualify for a pension, how long qualified retired teachers will live and collect benefits and how the pension fund’s investments will perform. If all these assumptions are correct and the plan’s expected assets cover its expected liabilities, the plan is considered fully funded.</p>
<p>But the typical teacher pension plan <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/02/25/teacher-pension-plans-are-getting-riskier-and-it-could-backfire-on-american-schools/">has not been fully funded</a> at any point since about the year 2000. Overly optimistic investment assumptions are often the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/02/25/teacher-pension-plans-are-getting-riskier-and-it-could-backfire-on-american-schools/">biggest part of unfunded liabilities</a>. In response, states or big cities often redirect money from school operating budgets into the pension funds. But these governments often <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-abstract/5/4/402/10127/An-Introduction-to-Teacher-Retirement-Benefits?redirectedFrom=fulltext">fail to make these payments in full</a>. </p>
<p>States and cities face fiscal pressures from other spending demands and from tax collections that fail to keep pace. Pushing some unfunded pension liability costs into the future is often seen as less painful than cutting current government programs or raising taxes. But skimping on covering costs for future retirees often compounds the system’s liability problem over time.</p>
<p>In 2021, fully <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">69% of teacher retirement costs</a> went to cover unfunded pension liabilities, up from 17% in 2001. In other words, the cost of future benefits is growing faster than the cost of current-year benefits. </p>
<p>Could it be due to increasingly generous retirement benefits? No. A recent report by the Equable Institute, a bipartisan nonprofit that studies public pensions and advises employees, communities and policymakers, concludes that the average value of lifetime benefits for new teachers is <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">about $100,000 less</a> than for their more senior colleagues. </p>
<p>Rather, unfunded pension liabilities can rise because of downturns in the financial market, lowering the systems’ investment earnings. Also, they may increase when schools hire more teachers and support staff, increasing the numbers of workers in the pension system. It can also be due to the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/02/fed-raises-borrowing-costs-with-another-jumbo-interest-rate-hike.html">rising cost of borrowing</a>, </p>
<h2>3. What does this mean for education funding?</h2>
<p>As more public dollars flow to teacher retirement systems, fewer resources are available for schools and classrooms. From 2002 to 2020, <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">total state and local K-12 spending rose 33%</a>, while teacher retirement spending rose 220%. Nationally, and in most states, teacher pension costs have been rising faster than K-12 spending for the past two decades. States then <a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">take money from state funds</a> normally dedicated to school operations and move them to the pension fund. The result has been less spending for school operations, in the form of either spending cuts or a smaller share of a growing spending pie.</p>
<p>For example, in the 2022-23 fiscal year, my state of <a href="https://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/PDF/Summaries/SchAid_Exec_Rec_Summary_fy23-24.pdf">Michigan will pay nearly $3 billion</a> from the state School Aid Fund into the state-administered Public School Employees Retirement System to cover future pension costs. However, while this move will lower the amount of unfunded liabilities in the system, these dollars will come directly from state funds intended to support general K-12 school operations.</p>
<p>This practice has been repeated in many states over the past two decades. According to the Equable Institute study, the “<a href="https://equable.org/hidden-funding-cuts/">hidden cuts</a>” of using K-12 funds to cover pension costs have risen from $457 per student in 2001 to $1,290 per student in 2021 – a 182% increase in constant 2021 dollars.</p>
<h2>4. How can the problem be solved?</h2>
<p>The solutions rest with the states, and there is no “one size fits all” remedy. Each state has its own K-12 funding system and <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-abstract/5/4/402/10127/An-Introduction-to-Teacher-Retirement-Benefits?redirectedFrom=fulltext">teacher retirement plans</a>, which are governed by many rules that are embedded in state constitutions and laws. These state laws vary. For example, teachers in 15 states, including California and Texas, <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/10/07/why-does-social-security-leave-out-teachers-in-the.aspx">aren’t covered by the Social Security system</a>. But there are some common issues and ways to address them.</p>
<p>One common problem is transparency. While it’s usually relatively easy to see how much states, districts and schools are spending for operations, it’s much more difficult to find public data on teacher retirement costs, particularly pension liability costs, because the data is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2017/03/07/another-reason-to-stop-ignoring-teacher-pensions/">remarkably scarce</a>. </p>
<p>Pension dollars are as much a part of public education budgets as spending on teacher and staff salaries, books, buses and the rest. Careful monitoring and reporting of pension costs, both payments and liabilities, may improve management of these costs before they inflict more damage on budgets for teaching and learning.</p>
<p>Secondly, many states have reduced their financial support for K-12 schools in recent years. The share of personal income given to K-12 schools has <a href="https://www.schoolfinancedata.org/the-adequacy-and-fairness-of-state-school-finance-systems-2023/">steadily declined</a> since the 2007-2009 Great Recession in 39 states. </p>
<p>States could protect school operating budgets by using general fund revenue to pay pension liability costs, not dedicated K-12 aid. Local districts could be responsible for the cost of current-year retirement benefits but cannot do much to manage unfunded pension liabilities. States could cover pension debt costs without reducing state aid for school operations, but it would require raising taxes or cutting programs in other areas.</p>
<p>To begin moving in this direction, states could restore their pre-recession levels of tax effort for K-12 education. <a href="https://www.schoolfinancedata.org/the-adequacy-and-fairness-of-state-school-finance-systems-2023/">A recent study</a> by researchers from Rutgers University, the University of Miami and the Albert Shanker Institute concluded that had all states done this by 2016, schools would have reaped $288 billion in added funding. </p>
<p>Trading off pension support against school operating funds is not an inevitable result of rising pension costs. Whether states have the economic means or political will to address this problem effectively remains to be seen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Addonizio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>States are struggling to cover pension costs for public school teachers. A education policy expert weighs in on potential solutions.Michael Addonizio, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992402023-02-21T18:46:42Z2023-02-21T18:46:42ZWorking more and making less: Canada needs to protect immigrant women care workers as they age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510403/original/file-20230215-28-28mmto.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C152%2C5946%2C3835&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Immigrant women working in the care sector do the essential work many Canadians rely on, but low wages mean many need to work past retirement age.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/working-more-and-making-less--canada-needs-to-protect-immigrant-women-care-workers-as-they-age" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The pandemic has heightened Canadians’ awareness of the 3D jobs — <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/immigrant-women-face-dangerous-working-conditions-in-long-term-care-u-of-c-researcher">dirty, difficult and dangerous</a> — done by many migrant workers in our communities.</p>
<p>When the pandemic first struck, many of these workers were on the front line working in essential services. Engaged in low-wage work in health and child care, immigrant care workers had <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8123521/covid-cases-death-healthcare-workers-canada/">high rates of COVID-19 infections</a>, while also experiencing <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210312/dq210312a-eng.htm">widespread job losses</a> and continuing <a href="https://www.parklandinstitute.ca/more_than_just_a_health_care_aide">financial struggles to make ends meet</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2022.2139984">Our recent paper</a> in the <em>Journal of Aging and Social Policy</em> reveals troubling realities for immigrant women care workers as they age. We found that immigrant women aged 65 and over who entered Canada through the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/caregivers.html#caregiver">(Live-in) Caregiver program</a> work more but make less than other comparable immigrant women. The required live-in component was <a href="https://mwcbc.ca/downloads/AnOverviewofCanadasNewCaregiverProgram-AShiftfromPermanencetoPrecariousness.pdf">removed in 2014</a> and the program has since been split into <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/caregivers/child-care-home-support-worker/2023-changes.html">two pilot programs</a>. </p>
<p>These findings are crucially important given <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021004/98-200-x2021004-eng.cfm">Canada’s rapidly aging population</a> and increasing concern about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980810000814">senior poverty in racialized communities</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing a blue nurses uniform plays Connect Four with an elderly man." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510404/original/file-20230215-3589-jwqkr1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Jobs like personal support workers, home health aides and child-care workers tend to have low wages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
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<h2>Working past retirement age</h2>
<p>In Canada, we have long known that it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928718768337">disproportionately racialized immigrant women</a> (specifically Black and Filipina women) who do challenging and devalued work as carers. We also know that jobs like personal support workers, home health aides and child-care workers are still usually associated with “women’s work” and tend to have low wages.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-treat-migrant-workers-who-put-food-on-our-tables-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-4-153275">How we treat migrant workers who put food on our tables: Don't Call Me Resilient EP 4</a>
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<p>However, what we have not known is whether these women continue to experience these disadvantages later in life. Specifically, we have very little information about the financial challenges immigrant women care workers in Canada face as they age. </p>
<p>On the one hand, it is plausible that care workers are more likely than other workers to continue working past the typical retirement age because of their relatively <a href="https://progressive-economics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/temppermlcpfinal.pdf">low wages and limited savings</a>. </p>
<p>On the other hand, due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4431-4">physically and emotionally demanding nature of care work</a>, which can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-014-9423-2">detrimental to their health</a>, care workers may be less likely to continue working past age 65 and have higher rates of eligibility for government low-income supports. </p>
<p>Our recent research tried to clarify the situation of immigrant care workers as they age. We examined 11 years of Statistics Canada data from 2007-2017 to compare the income sources and trajectories of immigrant women who entered Canada through three migrant entry programs. </p>
<p>We used Statistics Canada’s <a href="https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5057">Longitudinal Immigration Database</a> to unpack how the gendered and racialized devaluation of caring occupations disadvantages immigrant women as they age. The database is a comprehensive source of administrative data that includes information on the socio-economic status of tax-filing immigrants since their arrival in Canada.</p>
<p>The data show that care workers are more likely to be employed after the age of 65 than other immigrant women, but have a lower and declining total income as they age. </p>
<p>Furthermore, while care workers receive higher rates of government pension benefits, they tend to have lower levels of private pension savings. And the cumulative income they report shows a relative decline over time.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a nurse uniform assists an elderly woman using a walker." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510405/original/file-20230215-28-zj46uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Care workers are more likely to be employed after the age of 65 but have a declining total income as they age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Prioritizing care workers as they age</h2>
<p>So what does this all mean? Our study underscores serious concerns about government investment in alleviating senior poverty. The conditions of low-wage care workers, before and after retirement, must be prioritized.</p>
<p>The package of pension supports available in Canada, which includes Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Canada Pension Plan, does not offset the decline in earnings immigrant care worker women face as they age. </p>
<p>That means there is a need to enhance policies that address senior poverty, recognizing that immigrant care worker women are among Canada’s most vulnerable populations. These women experience <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12851">intersectional disadvantages</a> as immigrants, women and racialized minorities. </p>
<p>Our findings also reinforce the need for more full-time, permanent and well-paying jobs in the Canadian care sector. As of 2017, the unemployment rate of female immigrants in Canada was <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-606-x/71-606-x2018001-eng.htm">nearly double</a> that of their Canadian-born counterparts. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2020-0255">Recent research</a> finds that the pandemic increased rates of unemployment and led to shifts to precarious work for many immigrant women in Canada.</p>
<p>The federal government must enhance access to and the amount of money provided through the Guaranteed Income Supplement to address senior poverty within underserved communities. Any government invested in reducing social inequalities and protecting vulnerable senior populations must consider the financial challenges immigrant care worker women face as they age and equalize their income over time with other comparable groups. And we, as the electorate, must do our part to keep governments accountable to this goal. </p>
<p>Ultimately, immigrant women are doing the essential jobs that most Canadians rely on. They are caring for our elderly, sick or young family members when we are in need. </p>
<p>It is the very least we can do to ensure that immigrant women care workers are able to age with financial security, dignity and adequate social protections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Lightman receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (file number 435-2021-0486).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hamid Akbary received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant number 752-2019-2640). In addition to his academic affiliation, he works as an Analyst for Statistics Canada. </span></em></p>Immigrant care workers are having to work into retirement age to make ends meet. The Canadian government must do more to support them.Naomi Lightman, Associate Professor of Sociology, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityHamid Akbary, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2000552023-02-17T18:14:23Z2023-02-17T18:14:23ZBrenda Lucki’s retirement will not fix the RCMP’s structural problems<p>RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki <a href="https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2023/commissioner-lucki-retirement-announcement">announced her retirement</a> on Feb. 15. It is easy to make Lucki the scapegoat for almost five years of RCMP crises, debacles, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9132453/rcmp-internal-polling-trust-confidence/">collapsing public support</a> and allegations of <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20211207/13-en.aspx">systemic racism</a> and employee harassment. After all, the buck stopped at her desk. But there’s no point replacing the driver when the vehicle itself is rusted out, out of fuel and mechanically unsound.</p>
<p>We shouldn’t have hopes for an RCMP renaissance with Lucki’s retirement. The problems with RCMP leadership are not about the gender or identity of the person in charge. </p>
<p>The national RCMP structure is clearly befuddling. It has a <a href="https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/royal-canadian-mounted-police-2022-2023-departmental-plan#A8">multi-billion-dollar annual budget</a> and about <a href="https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/about-rcmp">30,000 police officer and civilian employees</a> spread across Canada. It includes six levels of policing (rural, municipal, provincial, national, First Nations and international) and is subject to hundreds of federal statutes and agreements. </p>
<p>But the problem is not its spread and focus so much as its organization. The RCMP is a police service run according to the administrative rules and culture of a federal government bureaucracy. It is essentially a ministry of the federal government.</p>
<h2>A challenging tenure</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing a police uniform" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510733/original/file-20230216-16-vil2gj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Lucki was appointed commissioner of the RCMP in April 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
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<p>The RCMP’s challenges are also not about the gender of the commissioner. In 2007, the federal government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rcmp-commissioner-stepping-down-in-summer-1.1019864">appointed William Elliott</a>, a federal civilian public servant, to run the RCMP. It was, by all accounts and personal experiences, a very uneven experiment based in part on having someone with zero policing experience and a less than stellar personality.</p>
<p>I have spent close to 20 years at the civilian executive level of the RCMP, at both the divisional and national level. I have reported to and closely observed women in major leadership roles — including the career of now <a href="https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/busson-bev/">Senator Beverley Busson</a>, former commander of Canada’s largest RCMP Division in British Columbia and her fill-in role as national RCMP Commissioner. And a succession of women Divisional commanders in British Columbia, Alberta and across Canada. </p>
<p>Lucki is not solely responsible for many debacles and crises facing the RCMP, but she does have to take some responsibility for accepting the job in the first place. </p>
<p>The fact is Lucki was not the best qualified to replace the hardcore RCMP <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-commissioner-paulson-retirement-1.4011332">commissioner Bob Paulson</a>, a tough major crime investigator and former military fighter pilot.</p>
<p>The reality is Lucki’s appointment was a political decision by Trudeau, trying to change the image of a macho national police force beset by <a href="https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/rcmp-bullying-intimidation-and-harassment-class-action-notice-certification">widespread allegations of bullying, intimidation and harassment</a>, from both men and women.</p>
<p>The series of sudden and major changes and reputation-threatening events under Lucki’s watch are widely publicized: <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/rcmp-arrests-wetsuweten-coastal-gaslink/">Dealing with pipeline construction protests</a>, managing a pandemic with the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-union-vaccine-mandate-1.6312239">controversial actions of her own force</a>, managing the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-cupe-unionization-1.3933300">first unionization of RCMP sworn police officers</a> and the federal court’s 2022 approval for a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/rcmp-class-action-lawsuit-certified-greenwood-gray-harassment-bullying-1.6597472">$1.1 billion class-action lawsuit</a> against the RCMP over allegations of bullying, intimidation and harassment.</p>
<p>There were also accusations of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/head-of-rcmp-testifies-before-ns-mass-shooting-inquiry-1.6559387">political interference</a> in the chaotic deployment of RCMP officers during the Nova Scotia mass shooting. And then there was the controversy over the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-rcmp-brenda-lucki-testimony-emergencies-act/">RCMP’s handling of the so-called “freedom convoy.”</a></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/alleged-political-interference-in-the-n-s-mass-shootings-means-the-rcmp-must-be-restructured-185674">Alleged political interference in the N.S. mass shootings means the RCMP must be restructured</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a red RCMP uniform walks passed a group of men in black uniforms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510736/original/file-20230216-28-qe6kn7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Lucki is not solely responsible for the many crises facing the RCMP, but she does have to take some responsibility for accepting the job in the first place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In 2009, the national RCMP Change Management project provided a 168-page review of the culture, structure and workplace climate of the RCMP. The review offered dozens of recommendations — none of which were followed up on.</p>
<p>The review highlighted how <a href="https://www.academia.edu/40158865/RCMP_leadership_in_the_21_st_century_The_need_for_boundary_spanning_leadership">RCMP culture is split between policing culture and the bureaucratic culture</a>. The centralized model of bureaucratic administration is often at odds with the needs of operational policing. That has resulted in many of the RCMP’s governance difficulties.</p>
<p>To think that Lucki’s replacement will be able to wave a magic wand and bring order to chaos is to be blind not only to history, but to the trajectory of the RCMP’s organizational nature. </p>
<h2>A change in culture</h2>
<p>In 2007, the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP was mandated by the federal government to review the governance and culture of the RCMP. In its report, <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/tsk-frc-rcmp-grc/_fl/archive-tsk-frc-rpt-eng.pdf">the task force said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We heard more than once that the culture is one of fear and intimidation and that some who are in a position of command use their authority to intimidate others.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The RCMP also commissioned management professor Linda Duxbury to write an independent report in 2007. The report, titled <em>The RCMP Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow</em>, found that RCMP culture was resistant to change and did not promote a healthy workplace environment. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-survey-mental-health-1.6161975">A more recent report</a> by Duxbury also found that a significant majority of RCMP officers reported high levels of job stress.</p>
<p>In my research into RCMP leadership, I’ve found that the RCMP’s hierarchical command and control leadership model would be far better served through a <a href="https://www.academia.edu/40158865/RCMP_leadership_in_the_21_st_century_The_need_for_boundary_spanning_leadership">boundary-spanning leadership model</a>. Such a model encompasses many successful traits and actions of various leadership approaches including collaboration, communication, self-awareness, fairness, honesty, trustworthiness, empathy and accountability. </p>
<p>While many salute Lucki’s departure, the RCMP’s history suggests that it’s stuck in a feedback loop, repeating mistakes and expecting something new to emerge. In a statement announcing her retirement, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/i-did-my-best-brenda-lucki-retiring-as-rcmp-commissioner-1.6275433">Lucki said she did her best</a>.</p>
<p>Probably so. But Canada needs better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eli Sopow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Brenda Lucki’s retirement will change the person in charge of the RCMP. But the organization’s deeper structural problems cannot be fixed with a change at the top.Eli Sopow, Associate Professor, MBA Faculty of Leadership & People Management, University Canada WestLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1980752023-02-17T13:24:41Z2023-02-17T13:24:41ZTurning 50? Here are 4 things you can do to improve your health and well-being<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508743/original/file-20230207-27-jzu8l0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C5184%2C3406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Turning 50 can be the time of your life – but it also means adapting to new challenges.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mature-retired-couple-stop-for-rest-and-hot-drink-royalty-free-image/1387313039?phrase=50%20year%20old&adppopup=true">monkeybusinessimages/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve to mark the beginning of 2023, I came to grips with the fact that I would turn 50 years old this year. </p>
<p>Entering a new decade is often a time to pause and reflect on our lives, <a href="https://theconversation.com/midlife-isnt-a-crisis-but-sleep-stress-and-happiness-feel-a-little-different-after-35-or-whenever-middle-age-actually-begins-173131">particularly when reaching middle age</a>. For 50-year-old American men, the average remaining life expectancy <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr023.pdf">is 28 more years; for women, it’s 32</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=87v4Nk4AAAAJ&hl=en">public health professor</a> who is an expert in health promotion, I started to think about things one could do around this milestone birthday to improve the chances of living a healthy life for decades to come. </p>
<p>After reviewing the literature on healthy aging, I identified four things in particular that take on greater importance when you turn 50 – and that go beyond general health advice that’s beneficial at any age, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/kick-up-your-heels-ballroom-dancing-offers-benefits-to-the-aging-brain-and-could-help-stave-off-dementia-194969">staying active</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ultra-processed-foods-like-cookies-chips-frozen-meals-and-fast-food-may-contribute-to-cognitive-decline-196560">eating well</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-sleep-for-kids-starts-with-better-sleep-for-parents-especially-after-holiday-disruptions-to-routines-196110">getting enough sleep</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F5rDA5k3R4c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A TV reporter gets a colonoscopy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Get a colonoscopy</h2>
<p>Urging everyone to get a colonoscopy is certainly not the most fun piece of advice, but it’s one of the most important. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 105,000 new cases of colon cancer, more than 45,000 new cases of rectal cancer and <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html">over 50,000 deaths from colorectal cancer in 2023 alone</a>.</p>
<p>This makes colorectal cancer the <a href="https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/common.html#">second leading cause of cancer-related deaths</a> for men and women. </p>
<p>The good news is that the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html">survival rate is high</a> if the cancer is detected early, before it spreads to other parts of the body. The survival rate drops precipitously if cancer is found in the later stages. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diagnostic-tests/colonoscopy">colonoscopy</a> is a routine inpatient procedure that uses a <a href="https://theconversation.com/colonoscopy-is-still-the-most-recommended-screening-for-colorectal-cancer-despite-conflicting-headlines-and-flawed-interpretations-of-a-new-study-192374">scope to examine the rectum and colon</a> and that requires sedation or anesthesia.</p>
<p>In addition to detecting cancerous or potentially malignant polyps, your doctor can also detect swollen tissue and ulcers. These may indicate potential problems and increase the need for more frequent monitoring. </p>
<p>For people at low risk of colorectal cancer, there are <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/colon-cancer-screening-decisions-whats-the-best-option-and-when-202206152762">less invasive tests</a> that can be done at home, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/cologuard">such as Cologuard</a>. This involves collecting and mailing a sample of poop to a lab. These options should be discussed with your doctor to figure out which screening is best for you. </p>
<p>In 2021 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a national panel of experts, changed its recommendation for beginning colorectal cancer screening <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.6238">from age 50 to 45</a> for people at low risk. As a result, <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/screening-coverage-laws.html">insurance companies are required</a> to cover the cost of screening for anyone age 45 or older. </p>
<p>People at high risk <a href="https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/colorectal-cancer-screening">should get screened even earlier</a>. <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/acs-recommendations.html">High risk</a> is defined as a family history of colorectal cancer or a diagnosis of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ibd/what-is-IBD.htm">inflammatory bowel disease</a>. Colorectal cancer can occur in younger people too; for example, the “Black Panther” star, actor Chadwick Boseman, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/movies/chadwick-boseman-dead.html">died of colon cancer at the age of 43</a> in 2020. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photograph of a Black man wearing a tuxedo and bow tie." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510691/original/file-20230216-28-8dde3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Actor Chadwick Boseman at the 2016 NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, Calif. Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020 at age 43.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actor-chadwick-boseman-poses-in-the-press-room-at-the-47th-news-photo/508687706?phrase=chadwick%20boseman&adppopup=true">Jason LaVeris/Film Magic via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Get the shingles vaccine</h2>
<p>For many people who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, getting chickenpox was a rite of passage. I had a particularly severe case around my 10th birthday. </p>
<p>Once you have chickenpox, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chickenpox-and-shingles-virus-lying-dormant-in-your-neurons-can-reactivate-and-increase-your-risk-of-stroke-new-research-identified-a-potential-culprit-194627">the virus lies dormant</a> in your body for the rest of your life. And it <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/symptoms-causes/syc-20353054">can reemerge as shingles</a>. </p>
<p>While shingles are not usually life-threatening, they cause a rash and can be extremely painful. Getting shingles also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiac405">greatly increases one’s risk of having a stroke</a> over the following year.</p>
<p>The good news is that the shingles vaccine is highly effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html">adults 50 and older get the two-shot regimen</a>, two to six months apart, which is 97% effective at preventing shingles. </p>
<h2>Bump up retirement savings, look for discounts</h2>
<p>Retirement might seem like a long way off, but the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/394943/retiring-planning-retire-later.aspx">average retirement age</a> in the United States in 2022 was 61. The same study found that on average people thought they were going to retire at age 66. </p>
<p>For anyone born after 1960, full retirement benefits <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html">don’t kick in until age 67</a>, leaving a six-year gap between that and the average retirement age. </p>
<p>Retiring earlier than you had planned can occur for many reasons, but involuntary ones, like job loss, injury or illness, can be a financial strain. The general rule is that you need about <a href="https://www.aarp.org/retirement/planning-for-retirement/info-2020/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-retire.html">80% of your pre-retirement income</a> to be financially comfortable in retirement. This consists of all sources of income, including Social Security benefits, pensions and investments. </p>
<p>If you are behind where you should be in savings, the Internal Revenue Service allows you <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-catch-up-contributions">to make catch-up contributions</a> starting the year you turn 50. Employees who are 50 or older with a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) can contribute an extra US$7,500 a year. This money grows tax-free and helps provide an extra cushion when you retire. At age 50, an extra $1,000 per year can also be contributed for <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits">individual retirement accounts and Roth IRA accounts</a>.</p>
<p>Another way to save: Many hotels, restaurants and retail outlets offer senior discounts starting at age 50. </p>
<p>You can find reliable and up-to-date discounts by joining the <a href="https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefits/all-offers-a-z/?intcmp=GLOBAL-HDR-LNK-CLK-BENEFITS-UXDIA">AARP</a>. This nonprofit organization advocates for people ages 50 and older. Membership is under $20 per year and provides hundreds of discounts. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The challenges of turning 50.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Get your paperwork in order</h2>
<p>While people in their 50s and beyond often still have their best decades ahead of them, it is vital to prepare for the unexpected – at any age. The <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/241572/death-rate-by-age-and-sex-in-the-us/">mortality rate for people ages 55 to 64 is double that</a> of those age 45 to 54. </p>
<p>This is an excellent time to decide how you want your affairs to be handled. According to the National Institute on Aging, this includes your <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/getting-your-affairs-order">will, living will and a durable power of attorney</a>. </p>
<p>A will describes how you would like your financial assets distributed after your death. However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/68-of-americans-do-not-have-a-will-137686">most Americans don’t have a will</a>. There are several <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-tools-put-will-writing-in-reach-for-most-people-but-theyre-not-the-end-of-the-line-for-producing-a-legally-binding-document-173569">online tools for wills</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-do-more-for-your-favorite-charity-consider-a-planned-gift-138241">bequests</a> that can make this process easier. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/living-wills/art-20046303">Living wills</a> indicate the type of care you want or don’t want if you are unable to communicate your preferences. The <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/living-wills/art-20046303">durable power of attorney</a> is a document that allows someone you appoint to make health care decisions for you if you cannot. This is different from a general power of attorney, which ends if you can no longer make decisions on your own.</p>
<p>These may seem like a time-consuming list of things to do, but breaking them down into separate tasks makes it more manageable. So far, I have bumped up my retirement savings and scheduled my colonoscopy – even though I’m five years late on that one, based on the new recommendations. </p>
<p>I will get the rest done by the end of the year – and if you’re turning 50 or just planning ahead, I hope you do too. Admittedly, not all of it is fun, but everything on this checklist will add security to your years, and perhaps years to your life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay Maddock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Middle age means staying a step ahead on both the medical and financial fronts.Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1973622023-01-11T06:12:33Z2023-01-11T06:12:33ZWhy do musicians like Elton John find retirement so tough? A music psychology expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503433/original/file-20230106-10513-3zaqtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=101%2C0%2C3907%2C2384&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elton John performs in Michigan as part of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour in 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/grand-rapids-michigan-usa-october-15-1764489509">Tony Norkus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With his <a href="https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/farewell-yellow-brick-road">Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour</a>, Elton John confirmed his latest plans for retirement. The final show of the tour in July 2023 will be his last. However, deja vu suggests this might not be the last we see of Elton.</p>
<p>The singer has announced plans to retire <a href="https://www.musictimes.com/articles/8902/20140817/elton-john-career-false-retirements-brief-chronological-look.htm">at least five times</a> since 1984 but is still going strong. By the end of his current tour, Elton John will have performed in over 300 concerts in the UK, the US and Europe and he shows no sign of slowing down. On Sunday he performed a <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/elton-john-final-uk-show-glastonbury-festival-1235180982/">headline slot at Glastonbury</a>.</p>
<p>Elton is not the only performer with a history of retiring and unretiring. He is in good company with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=113477&page=1">Barbra Streisand</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/justinbieber/status/415683404462436352?lang=en">Justin Bieber</a>, <a href="https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-07-14/180311/jay-z-explains-2003-retirement-i-thought-i-was-burned-out/">Jay-Z</a>, <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/lily-allen-hints-she-may-not-retire-just-yet-after-olivia-rodrigo-glastonbury-performance-3258600">Lily Allen</a> and <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/phil-collins-retired/">Phil Collins</a>. </p>
<p>Hip-hop star <a href="https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2022/02/04/Nicki-Minaj-returns-music-new-single-Do-We-Have-Problem/9811643982091/">Nicki Minaj’s</a> retirement lasted for only 22 days, while heavy metal singer <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ozzy-osbourne-retirement-1992/">Ozzy Osbourne’s</a> valedictory No More Tours tour in 1992 preceded a further 30 years of performance.</p>
<p>In contrast with handsomely rewarded performances on the global stage, retirement can be an intermittent pipe dream for many musicians. Long, unsociable hours in the music industry often offer modest remuneration and few of the perks available in other sectors. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/working-retirement-pension-age">no compulsory retirement age</a> in the UK, which can be a godsend for lower paid professional performers who find that saving for an adequate pension is beyond their means. In these cases, working <a href="https://theconversation.com/ageing-activism-why-we-need-to-give-voice-to-the-new-third-age-50305">beyond the third age</a> is a necessity.</p>
<p>For Elton and his internationally acclaimed peers, however, the incentive to return to performing is less likely to be financial. So why do some successful musicians find it so hard to stick to retirement?</p>
<h2>The motivation of the stage</h2>
<p>The key to understanding this lies in motivation. </p>
<p>For many musicians, the motivation to perform is intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Extrinsically motivated performers are interested in tangible rewards such as money. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735617721637">Intrinsic motivation</a> meanwhile, is present when a musician performs mainly because of a strong inner desire to make music.</p>
<p>For intrinsically motivated performers, making music is inherently pleasurable and a means unto itself. This partly explains why the music profession remains attractive even if it does not always bring the financial security of other careers. It also explains why some celebrated performers find it difficult to stay out of the public arena.</p>
<p>Among those with a passion for music, the rewards of performance often exceed the financial benefits. The status and accolades derived from a celebrated performance career provide a source of affirmation which can become difficult to obtain elsewhere. </p>
<p>Once human beings have fulfilled their basic needs of food, water, shelter and relationships, <a href="http://eznow7jgmenpjz.pic3.eznetonline.com/upload/MASLOW_YQfG.pdf">self-actualisation</a> becomes a significant driving force. For dedicated performers, achievement in the musical sphere can become an irreplaceable vehicle for attaining self esteem, personal growth and the satisfaction of fulfilling their potential.</p>
<h2>You’re only as good as your last performance</h2>
<p>Identity is also a central component in the motivation to perform. Continuing to perform professionally <a href="https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/fbc3b0a7fd80bcb648344f9d298414ece784f56ff9018d267fd77a7fce70a980/519636/Gross%20%26%20Musgrave%20%282017%29%20Can%20Muic%20Make%20You%20Sick%20Pt2.pdf">can provide validation</a> for musicians, regardless of the level of income and recognition.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Nicki Minaj performs with long wavy platinum blonde hair, wearing a red catsuit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503606/original/file-20230109-7616-wupr0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nicki Minaj’s retirement in 2019 lasted just 22 days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-yorkaug-14-singer-nicki-minaj-114184756">Debby Wong</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For many, being a musician is inextricably linked with their sense of self. Their self worth is then strongly affected by their capacity to perform. This is especially true for singers, as voice is an integral part of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jane-Oakland/publication/258173213_Re-defining_'Me'_Exploring_career_transition_and_the_experience_of_loss_in_the_context_of_redundancy_for_professional_opera_choristers/links/00b7d52d6675946763000000/Re-defining-Me-Exploring-career-transition-and-the-experience-of-loss-in-the-context-of-redundancy-for-professional-opera-choristers.pdf">identity formation and expression</a>.</p>
<p>There is some truth in the old saying; “You’re only as good as your last performance.” If you’re not performing at all, how good can you be? </p>
<p>For retired musicians, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jane-Oakland/publication/280067238_AGEING_AND_RETIREMENT_TOWARDS_AN_UNDERSTANDING_OF_THE_EXPERIENCES_OF_SYMPHONY_MUSICIANS_AS_THEY_APPROACH_RETIREMENT/links/55a640e008aee8aaa765644b/AGEING-AND-RETIREMENT-TOWARDS-AN-UNDERSTANDING-OF-THE-EXPERIENCES-OF-SYMPHONY-MUSICIANS-AS-THEY-APPROACH-RETIREMENT.pdf">it can be challenging</a> to find a comparable way to channel the energy they once dedicated to performance.</p>
<p>Musicians, like other professional groups, are diverse in many ways, but there are some personality traits different types of musicians tend to share. </p>
<p>For example, classical musicians typically score highly on introversion, which partly accounts for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03057356810090010201">their ability to focus</a> on the solitary practice necessary for developing technique before engaging in ensemble playing.</p>
<p>In contrast, rock and pop musicians tend to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/0305735694222006">score highly</a> on extroversion, often learning and rehearsing more informally in collaboration with their peers. Extroverted performers often derive their energy from audience interaction so it can be difficult to achieve that “buzz” once the music stops.</p>
<h2>Don’t stop me now</h2>
<p>Performing music is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00906/full">widely recognised</a> as a way of achieving the highly desired state of “flow”, otherwise known as “peak performance” or being “in the zone”.</p>
<p>Providing that the challenge of performing closely matches the skill level of the performer, <a href="https://nuovoeutile.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2002-Flow.pdf">music can become an all-absorbing activity</a>, which is so immersive that it distorts our sense of time and distracts us from our everyday concerns. During live concerts, the audience and performers can experience a sense of <a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-6/january/SocSci_v6_27to42.pdf">“collective effervescence”</a> rarely achieved elsewhere.</p>
<p>Add in the emotional high derived from the adrenaline released in public performance and we can begin to understand why the rewards of performance can be difficult to replace in retirement.</p>
<p>Rihanna’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd8jh9QYfEs">Don’t Stop the Music</a>, Queen’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM">Don’t Stop Me Now</a> and Elton’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHwVBirqD2s">I’m Still Standing</a> are these musicians ways of telling us that they want to be in the limelight, just as much as their audiences want them to stay there.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Bonshor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Elton John is still standing after at least five previous retirement announcements. An expert in music psychology explains why intrinsic motivation is behind many musicians’ reluctance to retire.Michael Bonshor, Course Director, Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1922032022-11-01T17:48:46Z2022-11-01T17:48:46ZWhy putting your artistic calling on hold might not always be such a bad idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492082/original/file-20221027-28385-7yclcl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it ever too late?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trombone-player-trombonist-playing-jazz-musician-2059728944">Alenavlad</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a boy, Terry loved music and taught himself trombone, guitar and the tuba. Right through school and university he played in the evenings in jazz groups, musical theatre and marching bands. He started work as an accountant in his early twenties, but his wide social circle in the music world meant he was still out playing gigs every evening. </p>
<p>Even as his blossoming career began to take him around the world, he still found opportunities to indulge his passion. However, as time went on and his career took over, finding time for music became harder and harder. In the end, it petered out completely.</p>
<p>Similarly, Jenny was a gifted flautist and played with a national youth orchestra. But juggling her work as an administrator alongside her family made it hard for her to continue. For a while, she would take her children to summer music camps where they could play together. But eventually following her divorce and a sense that her music was becoming a bit “stale”, she stopped playing altogether and sold her flute. She didn’t play again for 18 years. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until they retired that both Terry and Jenny got back into their music in a serious way. Jenny was introduced to jazz by her new partner and then, following his death, was inspired by his example to join a band and experiment with different genres. Terry took early retirement, joined an orchestra and picked up all his old instruments.</p>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>These stories came out of a recent <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00187267221095759">research project</a> that I co-authored. We spoke to a total of 33 people in the UK, all of whom had felt “called” to music in early life but then abandoned it in favour of other work, only to return to their music later. Rather than being singers, violinists or ukulele players they became IT managers, civil servants and pharmacists.</p>
<p>Did any of them regret the choices they made? Although some had missed music for a while, with the benefit of hindsight, none regretted the choices they had made. As Terry said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it would have lost some of its lustre if I’d made a go of it and it wouldn’t have been an escape from the day job, it would be the day job. At some point I wonder if it would have become a chore.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Oliver, a clarinet player turned leadership development expert turned retiree musician, took a similar view. He talked about a musician he knew who played in the orchestra pit of The Lion King every night who would now “panic at being asked to play anything else”.</p>
<p>Jenny spoke for many of our participants when she said music was “like breathing”, but they also saw pursuing a musical career as fraught with risks. They talked about the lack of job security, the antisocial hours, the low pay, the hours of practice and lack of control over what music they could play. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Career woman looking out an airport window thoughtfully" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492083/original/file-20221027-13-eta3rj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Should I have taken my chance?’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/passenger-traveler-woman-airport-waiting-air-180785885">Maridav</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instead, most had pursued careers that built on other strengths and interests and that brought them a greater sense of security. From the vantage point of retirement, people could see the benefits of pursuing their calling in their later years instead.</p>
<p>Some, like Ron, went so far as to do a master’s degree and then a doctorate in music after he retired. Others, like Fiona, took the opportunity to explore new types of music, go to music summer schools, chair a local music society and play with a range of different groups. </p>
<p>While all the musicians aspired to be good at what they did, pressures from teachers, peers and family were lifted in later life. In retirement, music was about having fun, experimentation and companionship, and it didn’t matter what went wrong. Our participants enthused about the new-found joy and freedom of following their calling in their later years.</p>
<p>Amy said: “When I’m singing I’m in the moment, and that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what I look like, what anybody thinks of me.”</p>
<p>As Jack added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being good used to matter a lot to me when I was younger and that scared me off. But now you just give it a go – if it works, it works, if it doesn’t, have a laugh! </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this way, what it means to follow your calling becomes transformed over the life course from the serious, pressured experience of youth to the joy and freedom of retirement.</p>
<h2>Caveats</h2>
<p>It was easier for some than for others to resume their music. Those who completely abandoned music for some time – in Jack’s case 40 years, for example – certainly struggled more to get back into it. Yet even those in Jack’s position instinctively knew music was not completely lost to them:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You think of passions as something red hot and steaming, but they’re not always. Sometimes they simmer and they’re always there, always at the back. There’s this sort of beat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Picking up their calling to music in retirement gave structure and purpose to people’s lives and meant retirement was not just about “gardening”, but about personal growth and fulfilment. It meant that life continued to have a sense of purpose and meaning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Old man smiling as he plays the piano" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492084/original/file-20221027-18659-tnbsk2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reelin’ in the years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-man-learning-play-piano-2176718759">Caftor</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our participants were lucky because they all enjoyed good physical and mental health and the financial resources to afford to spend time on music. Of course, not everyone is in this position. </p>
<p>But for many who missed the boat first time around and didn’t follow their calling, the message is that it can still happen in a different way. As Gordon, a trombone player in his youth who became a senior IT executive and now chairs his local choral society, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People say, ‘keep your passion as your hobby but not your career because it will be more satisfying’. I think in retrospect that was probably sound advice.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Bailey is a member of ReWAGE, and of the Work Insights Group which is part of the Involvement and Participation Association. This article is based on research conducted in collaboration with Dr Jane Sturges. </span></em></p>We are all told to follow our calling. Here’s what happens if you pursue a more ‘sensible’ career instead.Katie Bailey, Professor Of Work and Employment, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908322022-09-16T06:56:31Z2022-09-16T06:56:31ZThe retirement of Roger Federer is the abdication of tennis royalty<p>This is a time of endings. In the midst of the all-consuming <a href="https://theconversation.com/media-coverage-of-queen-elizabeths-death-began-well-but-quickly-descended-into-farce-190645">media spectacle</a> surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II, “tennis royalty” in the form of Roger Federer will <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-15/roger-federer-announces-retirement-from-tennis/101446316">retire</a> in the same week and in the same city that she is laid to rest.</p>
<p>When the career of a sporting celebrity concludes, it is widely represented as if they have died, in what journalists call “sports obituaries”. </p>
<p>The person in question is usually still alive and will probably go on to be successful in the business, media and/or charity sectors. But the experience of watching them perform live at the stadium or on screen immediately mutates into nostalgic reflection.</p>
<p>So, what can be said about the sporting life of “Roger”, one the few people often known solely by their given name?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/serena-williams-forced-sports-journalists-to-get-out-of-the-toy-box-and-cover-tennis-as-more-than-a-game-189024">Serena Williams forced sports journalists to get out of the 'toy box' – and cover tennis as more than a game</a>
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<h2>The final curtain</h2>
<p>When the institution of sport emerged during the late industrial revolution in the 19th century, it changed, as Allen Guttmann famously put it, “<a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/from-ritual-to-record/9780231133418">from ritual to record</a>”. It became all about the numbers and the score.</p>
<p>By this measure, Federer’s sporting record is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/roger-federers-records-milestones-2022-09-15/">formidable</a> – world men’s number one for the best part of six years, 20 Grand Slam singles titles (including six Australian Opens), the only player to win at least ten titles on clay, grass and hard court surfaces, and sundry other tennis achievements.</p>
<p>Of course, it has not all gone smoothly. The body that was his finely tuned instrument on the tennis court increasingly failed him, although the steely determination of the champion never wavered. </p>
<p>Until, facing one last hurrah but probably playing on one leg, he chose to lower the curtain at the event that he co-created.</p>
<p>Named after his tennis hero, the <a href="https://lavercup.com/">Laver Cup</a> is a testament to Federer’s unusually intense immersion in tennis history and, ultimately, his own place within it. Federer, who arrived as a <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Master/2N79DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=federer+biography&printsec=frontcover">teenage firebrand</a>, admires not just the impressive tennis record but also the demeanour of <a href="https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/rod-laver">Rod Laver</a>. </p>
<p>An elegant and courteous stylist who was instrumental in the professionalisation of tennis in the 1960s, he has been a significant role model for Federer.</p>
<p>Laver is not just acknowledged as a superlative tennis player, but widely respected and admired. In emulating him, Federer generally behaved well on and off court, although unlike Laver, he sometimes wept with frustration or joy. </p>
<p>In the pure aesthetics of tennis, Federer arguably eclipsed the master. No cold-eyed counting of tournament wins can capture the beauty of his backhand, the flourish of his forehand.</p>
<h2>King Roger and the big three</h2>
<p>In the early days of his career, the Swiss-South African Federer could have gone the way of Australian <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-ash-barty-and-special-k-tennis-triumphs-say-about-australia-and-the-buttoned-up-sport-industry-175993">Nick Kyrgios</a>, who is more than a decade younger. Both supremely talented and combustible, Federer and Kyrgios went in different directions.</p>
<p>Federer became “<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/king-roger-c6xpgkd8t?region=global">King Roger</a>”, as he was anointed by the august Times of London in 2018 – a player who trained hard, curbed his temper, and won Wimbledon at the age of 21. </p>
<p>Kyrgios, by contrast, emerged as “<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10964325/Wimbledon-2022-Stars-slam-Nasty-Nick-Kyrgios-SPAT-direction-abusive-fan.html">Nasty Nick</a>”, attracting media and spectator interest as much for his confrontational on-court antics as his sometimes sublime tennis. </p>
<p>Even if Kyrgios begins to win Grand Slams while continuing to <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/07/05/people-cant-look-away-from-nick-kyrgios/">fascinate younger tennis</a> fans, it is unimaginable he will come close to Federer’s elevated place in the pantheon.</p>
<p>Federer’s place in tennis history has been enhanced in part by his membership of the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/01/obsession-with-big-three-nadal-djokovic-federer-ruined-tennis">Big Three</a>” alongside Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – or the “Big Four” if Andy Murray is included. </p>
<p>With more than 60 Grand Slams between them, the three rivals dominated men’s tennis, supplying the kind of “golden age” narrative so beloved of terminally sentimental sport fans.</p>
<p>Now, with Nadal also prone to injury and Djokovic sacrificing tournaments by refusing to be <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59890943">vaccinated</a> against COVID, Federer’s retirement signals the end of this era. </p>
<p>The departure of “<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/28/all-hail-queen-serena-williams-on-the-verge-of-future-triumphs-in-new-fields/">Queen Serena Williams</a>” from the women’s game and the youth of the singles winners in the 2022 US Open is further evidence that the wheel has, perhaps mercifully, turned in favour of renewal.</p>
<p>But longevity is a major aspect of Federer’s status. He has been at or near the top of tennis for most of the 21st century. </p>
<p>Just as most people have only known one Queen of England, young and middle-aged tennis fans have had the comforting certainty of King Roger plying his trade on the world tennis circuit. </p>
<p>Unlike constitutional monarchies, though, those of the sporting world are produced by performance, not heredity. The new tennis regime is yet to take shape.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-can-break-up-the-big-3-monopoly-on-mens-tennis-heres-what-the-numbers-say-127991">Who can break up the 'Big 3' monopoly on men's tennis? Here's what the numbers say</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Astonishing athleticism</h2>
<p>I only saw Roger Federer in the flesh once. </p>
<p>It was two decades ago in London’s shiny <a href="https://www.nike.com/retail/s/niketown-london">NikeTown</a>, and young Roger – an up-and-coming professional contracted to Nike – was playing an exhibition game with oversized tennis balls and undersized racquets. My initial cynicism was overwhelmed by the astonishing athleticism on display. </p>
<p>I thought he’d do well then, but had no idea I was witnessing the rise of the House of Roger.</p>
<p>Federer, we are told, may return to such spaces to play post-retirement exhibition games. The <a href="https://rogerfedererfoundation.org/">Roger Federer Foundation</a>, dedicated to alleviating child poverty through education, could use the money.</p>
<p>But before the next phase of King Roger’s life there must be the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Media_Events/MxzQnVZhQE0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=live+events+broadcasting&printsec=frontcover">ceremonial media moment</a> of his appearance in the O2 arena in London, this week’s global capital of farewell ceremonies.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-ash-barty-and-special-k-tennis-triumphs-say-about-australia-and-the-buttoned-up-sport-industry-175993">What the Ash Barty and 'Special K' tennis triumphs say about Australia and the buttoned-up sport industry</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Roger Federer will retire this week at the Laver Cup. He leaves behind a formidable sporting record.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893402022-09-06T17:07:20Z2022-09-06T17:07:20ZHow to spend time wisely – what young people can learn from retirees<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482350/original/file-20220901-5045-q2pq9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=115%2C107%2C5393%2C3559&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Discovering passions and sharing time with loved ones are two things retirees say they wish they did more when they were younger.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-couple-playing-beach-tennis-551329297">nullplus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many young people, retirement is a blip on the radar, if not a total unknown. This is particularly true during our cost of living crisis, when investing and contributing more to your pension might fall down the priority list behind paying rent. </p>
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<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Despite this, more and more young people are starting to think about retirement in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/retirement/the-forbes-guide-to-fire/">earlier ages</a>, with many focusing on their future quality of life and financial independence after they leave work. </p>
<p>This can sometimes come at the expense of their wellbeing while they are still working, spending extremely frugally and focusing on the “hustle”, instead of enjoying the freedom and good times that could also characterise young adulthood. </p>
<p>For my <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8681690/">new research</a>, I interviewed over 200 people and surveyed hundreds more to understand how they balance time and money. I focused on people going through major life transitions: recent retirees and new parents, and people preparing for those moments. While we expect retirees to have all the time in the world, I found that in reality, retirees are often pressed for time. </p>
<p>Over a quarter of them feel <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11205-015-1029-z.pdf">time poor</a>, with not enough hours left in the day for all they need to do. This is regardless of the amount of money they have. Although wealthy retirees generally have more control over their schedules, both rich and poor retirees are impacted by time poverty in older ages.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-how-careful-do-i-still-need-to-be-around-older-and-vulnerable-family-members-187556?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">COVID: how careful do I still need to be around older and vulnerable family members?</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-spanish-holiday-could-be-quite-different-this-year-and-why-that-matters-186073?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How your Spanish holiday could be quite different this year – and why that matters</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/your-dream-wedding-might-not-be-legal-time-to-update-englands-old-fashioned-marriage-laws-187567?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Your dream wedding might not be legal – time to update England’s old-fashioned marriage laws</a></em></p>
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<p>It’s never too late (or too early) to start making the most of your time and living a better life. Here are some important lessons learned from my retirees’ journeys.</p>
<h2>Don’t chase money, let money chase you</h2>
<p>One of the biggest regrets among my <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/city/toronto/heres-torontos-richest-and-poorest-neighbourhoods-interactive/">less privileged</a> research participants was their inability to get as much education as they wanted when younger. Some left university or college early to support their families, or because they could not afford to continue. But all regretted not getting as much education as they needed to be competitive in the labour force later on.</p>
<p>To make enough money, pick something and follow through: whether university or skilled technical trades, get good at something. Then, the money will follow.</p>
<h2>Worry about how you feel – not how you look</h2>
<p>When youth wanes, you are left with how you feel. In retirement, will you be in pain thanks to spending your life in hard labour or nonstop work? My interviewees made clear that when you prioritise making money over health – whether by necessity or by choice – you pay for this by having to give up your precious time in retirement.</p>
<p>Some of my new retirees’ health recovery efforts included spending extra time with medical providers, and spending money and time on commuting to appointments. Women were doubly disadvantaged here as, unlike men, they continued to face societal pressures to look younger than their age. </p>
<p>To avoid having to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/57/5/910/2632069?login=false">spend extra</a> time and money on health recovery in later life, focus on health preservation in earlier life. Sometimes you may need to to prioritise your own wellbeing above the needs of your employer, for example by taking time off for your physical or mental health. </p>
<p>While this is a luxury currently not afforded to all, movements like “quiet quitting” are beginning to start a public conversation on this topic.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-why-doing-less-at-work-could-be-good-for-you-and-your-employer-188617">Quiet quitting: why doing less at work could be good for you – and your employer</a>
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<h2>Make your time count by sharing it with others</h2>
<p>We can “buy” time by exchanging money for tasks we do not wish to do. Consuming items can also have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24737120.pdf?addFooter=false">time costs</a>, as both shopping and learning to use new items takes time. Thanks to my retirees, I now also know that we can get more out of time when we share it with others. </p>
<p>Time is what social scientists would call a “<a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/">network good</a>”. In other words, how we value time depends on the number of other people we can share our time with. </p>
<p>All of my retired participants spoke of the need to build strong, healthy relationships while younger, to have friends we can share life with when older. Shared time leads to <a href="https://sociologicalscience.com/time-network-good/">greater emotional wellbeing</a> and happiness.</p>
<h2>Identify your passions early</h2>
<p>While nearly all of my retirees spent a considerable amount of time financially planning for retirement, almost as many regretted not planning ahead when it comes to cultivating hobbies and interests. This was particularly pressing for my wealthy retirees, as they faced a drop in their social status and loss of work friends when they retired. </p>
<p>Starting new hobbies and interests once retired – out of necessity – can feel like extra work. Pursuing passions is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07053436.1995.10715491?casa_token=Puyxz2akU2oAAAAA:Gl6qIREhdxqfcm5fo0cJ6_5DLLjTCuEVPF7Da2JDyxVHNwbeq6N-9Hbc0nMLiKn-cO1fZfd8cKRi">necessary for wellbeing</a>, but this should be done before retirement, while it is purely for fun.</p>
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<img alt="Four middle aged and older friends sitting in a living room and smiling with each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482499/original/file-20220902-18-3j3jpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Build strong, healthy relationships while younger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/middle-aged-couple-meeting-friends-around-1038734320">Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Time is love</h2>
<p>Repeatedly, my interview participants gently reminded me that giving your time to another person is the biggest act of kindness we can do. This is because once you give your time away, you can never get it back. </p>
<p>Be mindful of this as you give your time, to your friends, employers, acquaintances or to social media companies. Thanks to my participants, I now often ask myself: Does this company or organisation love me? Generally, the answer is no, at which point I also know they do not deserve much of my time. </p>
<p>At the same time, when a friend, trusted mentor, teacher or stranger donates their precious time to me, I am aware that my appreciation and kindness can only ever partially repay them. </p>
<p>My retired participants show that it is important to remain grateful for the time we share with each other while on this Earth. When the daily grind gets you down, remind yourself that time is love.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Boróka Bó received funding from the National Science Foundation and from the Soros Fellowship for New Americans.</span></em></p>Balancing wellbeing and money is a matter of how you spend your time.Boróka Bó, Assistant professor in sociology, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.