Government estimates indicate that one in four of us currently in our 50s can realistically expect to live to 100. With this in mind it is essential that we stop seeing 50 as old or older. It makes no more sense to think about 50 or 60 year olds together with people of 80, 90 or above than doing so with young people thirty or forty years their junior. 50 is in reality the start of the lifetime second half. A new identity and a new image is called for. Meet New Middle Age, the generation from 50 to retirement – whenever that might be given the abolition of a default retirement age and scheduled changes to the state retirement age.
This is an important generation. Lifespans have risen steadily but birth rates are now well below the 1960s baby boom. Our population is ageing. Over the next 10 years, 13.5 million job vacancies are expected but there will be only 7 million school and college leavers to fill them. Keeping people in work for longer will be vital when filling the gap. And our 50s is the peak age for caring, so this generation will need to be able to work and care to allow family care to offset the burgeoning demand for social care.
So let’s meet New Middle Age. Just like life at all ages, New Middle Age is diverse. There are nearly 12 million 50 to 65 year olds, about a fifth of the population. The majority are not retired but still in work – over 8 million of them. For some it’s still all about career, development and progression. 55 is the average age of a FTSE 100 CEO. Others are looking forward to early retirement after many years of manual work have taken their toll. But an option to switch to a job less physically demanding might be even better. Some people are wanting to reduce their hours in preparation for retirement. Others are looking for more hours to boost income, savings and all-important pensions.
This is the peak age for caring. There are 50 and 60 year olds at home caring for elderly relatives and others looking after grandchildren so that their own adult children can go out to work. But a bigger market in flexible jobs might mean they could find work they could balance with caring. And those that cannot find a balance now may be able to return to work in the future. When the time comes, they will need good, age and skill appropriate back to work support and a market in returner jobs.
But I have saved the best news about New Middle Age until last. Contrary to stereotypical images of grey hair and a general air of confusion, evidence suggests that our New Middle Age years may well be our best. A report published by the American National Academy of Sciences finds that high level reasoning peaks in our later middle years. In this age group, (here 60+), people ‘make more use of higher-order reasoning schemes that emphasize the need for multiple perspectives, allow for compromise, and recognize the limits of knowledge’. They conclude that this generation would be particularly suited to key roles involving decision-making, counselling and negotiation. The full paper can be seen here.
And from Germany we learn that productivity also peaks in our 50s. According to a discussion paper published by the German Institute for the Study of Labour, ‘productivity increases until the age range 50-54’ and that ‘at the ages 50 to 59, productivity is larger than at much younger ages, namely at the (age of the) reference group 35-39’. The full paper can be seen here.
People in New Middle Age make up one fifth of the UK population. They are effective, they are productive, they support both the older and younger generations, they are aspirational and we need them. It’s time to see them for what they are.