New Middle Age Voices – a voice for the 50 to retirement generation

Are you over 50 but not yet retired, still involved in the world of work?

You might be one of over 10 million over 50s currently in a job. Or you might be one of the 3 million over 50s outside the workforce but don’t think you are retired, perhaps actively wanting to return to work.

Do you think your opinions and thoughts about what is important are getting through to the people that matter?

New Middle Age thinks the answer is no and that needs to change. We need to find a voice.

So here is New Middle Age Voices – a voice for the 50 to retirement generation.

Why do we need New Middle Age Voices?

Campaigns need to reflect the aims and aspirations of the people they speak for. So they need to seek out opinions and find out about those people’s real experiences, their stories and their ideas.

But I have noticed that in debates and discussions about ageing, in large audiences and conferences, the older population themselves are noticeably absent. Without a voice, how are their concerns to be understood and their needs addressed?

New Middle Age wants to improve the lives of people from 50 to retirement. Through these blogs, through the website and through social media, we are speaking up for you and reaching out to make contact and find out what matters most.

But this is not enough. New Middle Age wants to hear from many more people between 50 and retirement. We want to hear your opinions. We want to learn about your experiences and hear your stories. Then we can develop ideas which will improve your lives. And we can let policy-makers know what these are and campaign for change.

The New Middle Age Voices Campaign

So we want you to hear from you. And we want you to connect with each other to start a real debate and build a supportive community.

You can connect with the campaign on Twitter at @NewMidAgeVoices.

We want lots of you to get involved. You can:

• follow @NewMidAgeVoices on Twitter.
• send tweets addressed to @NewMidAgeVoices with your ideas.
• talk to each other by retweeting and replying to messages on @NewMidAgeVoices.
• share tweets using the New Middle Age Voices hashtag #NMAVoices.
• comment about the campaign, or whatever you want to say, here on the blog page.
• let as many of your 50 to retirement friends as possible know about New Middle Age Voices and encourage them to join in.

What issues might come up on New Middle Age Voices?

We want to hear about whatever is important to you. But some of the things that might come up are:

• aspirations & ambitions – what do you still want to achieve? You might want to slow down but you might want to develop your career. Or perhaps you want to build something completely new. Doing something to make a difference gets more important as we get older.
• image – do you feel your options are limited by the image others have of you? Ageist images are commonplace. We need to tell our stories and let people know what it really means to be between 50 and retirement.
• work – you could be in work, winding down or moving into retirement. You might be relaunching a career or wanting to return to work. The period from 50 to retirement is one of transition, and people are moving both into and out of work.
• your future – do you worry about money, about pensions, or about who will look after you when you can’t look after yourself any more? Now is the time to prepare for later life. What help do you need?
• mid-life balance – can you make it all work? There’s a lot to fit in – you, partner, parents, other family, friends, work, interests, caring, health & well-being. Do you struggle to get the balance right?

There is more on these issues on the New Middle Age website here and on the main New Middle Age Twitter feed @New_Middle_Age

Most importantly, now is time to hear the real stories, the real experiences, the real voices of the 50 to retirement generation. Use New Middle Age Voices to speak up for you!