Wherever you look, at residential aged care institutions, at retirement village life, at the home support package scheme, or talk to the people over 65 — called “the old” — living at home making no claim on the system, just coping by whatever means they can, this stage of life means grappling with overwhelming challenges.

A repost from 1 October 2025

Kathy Eagar gives a comprehensive account of the state we are in. We have, through medical science and technology, been successful in extending life expectancy by 30 years across my lifetime. At 88, I am a pioneer as one of a rapidly growing demographic group who have never lived so long in such numbers in history. But alongside this remarkable scientific achievement, no one has given commensurate thought to what these added years are for, or how to live them with purpose and dignity. We need to draw on the experience of those who are working out how to live their long lives, despite our chaotic system.

In Australia today, 16.5% or 4.2 million people are over the age of 65 and deemed “old”. Most of the over-65s are well-educated, live in a private dwelling (only 6% are in aged care accommodation), and want to live independently. An increasing number of men and women are still in the workforce into their seventies, by choice not just by necessity. Research also shows that people over 65 are overwhelmingly positive about their lives and contribute significantly to the national economy, not only through paid work, but also childcare and voluntary work, contributions not well recognised by policy makers.

Prevailing social attitudes and economic policy discussion take a negative view of the aged as a social cost, a burden on society, a problem that will grow and the major issue addressed is care; where do we put them, how do we feed them, not how can they live a productive life, with self-respect. Current policy leads to social isolation and a lack of purpose for the old, which is a major cause of their ill health and premature death. No attention is given to a science of social interaction in extended old age.

No age policymakers are yet old.  One does not have to live in poverty to understand the poor, to know real pain if you haven’t borne a child, to understand parenting if you have no children, but, if you have had the experience, you have a flying start in understanding. No one knows what it feels like to be old until you get there.

When I turned 70, I wanted to know why some people lived actively and apparently happily into their 90s and others gave up and withdrew, their life effectively over. I interviewed 90-year-olds who were still active, studied the available research and published my book In Praise of Ageing.

The answer was evident: good health and genes are obviously important to healthy ageing but the way we deal with life experiences — the grief, the trauma, the hardships, setbacks with health, the disappointments — make all the difference. Those with resilience, a positive attitude, the ability to reinvent themselves as circumstances change, have ongoing engagement with and interest in people of all ages, follow what is going on in the world, have loving relationships with partners, family and friends and find a purpose they regard as worthwhile are all critical factors in leading a long rewarding life.

I went on a speaking campaign to try to help change attitudes to ageing. I thought there was some progress. The language about ageing was changing, the scornful jokes were less public, employer attitudes were shifting, job applications from those over 50 weren’t going straight in the bin, more women were going back to work as their children grew and flexibility in work hours was a consideration. We were recognising that middle age was 50-60 not 40-50.

That change was seen as a marketing opportunity and ageing was commodified as a for-profit business selling financial advice, insurance, home-support packages and self-funded retirement in villages — that looked like The Truman Show and called a name like Happy Valley — were established in the 1980s. The eligible entry age was 55. Images were of golf, travel, cruises, cocktails and sunsets.

People were enticed from jobs to a life of leisure. In the 90s, governments, wanting to shed teachers and public servants, offered retirement options at age 55. Tax-payers are still paying the bills........

© Pearls and Irritations