One area where Malta fails in promoting progressive socio-economic policies is in the fight against ageism.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the attitude of policy makers, as well as business leaders, in encouraging older people to remain active in the labour market beyond the statutory retirement age. We will live to regret this warped mindset.

The socio-economic benefits of abolishing a compulsory statutory retirement age are compelling. Countries like the US, Canada, and Australia have made retirement a matter of choice for most occupations. But our politicians believe that the ‘lump of labour’ theory is enough to justify their reluctance to change policies to reflect the vast changes in our society.

Some politicians hold on to the theory debunked by most economists that the number of jobs that an economy can create at any given time is fixed and that the young should not be blocked in taking on more senior roles in the workplace by older people hanging on to their jobs.

They promote the fallacy that older people are frail and passive dependants.

Yet they only propose extending the statutory retirement age when reports land on their desks saying that the underfunded State pension system is not sustainable. The sooner policy makers accept that the more older people there are working, the more jobs are created and taxes paid, and the faster we can claim social and economic success.

Older people may themselves be making the situation worse. They fail to use their political clout to make retirement at any age a matter of choice. To achieve this the mindset of older people also needs to change.

It is a sad reality that for many, especially men, their sense of self-worth, how they perceive themselves and their friendships, are wrapped up in their work.

This often has an impact on some older people’s mental health as they are told they have to retire when they still feel they have a lot to contribute.

Policymakers in government and in private business need to rethink how we look at the competence of elderly people

To fight ageism and promote active participation of older people in the economy, major changes will be needed in the way we perceive the ideal way that older people should engage in promoting their own and society’s well-being. The career model that many take for granted is one in which they see themselves having salary increases and occupying a more senior role in their organisation as they grow older.

The social flaw of this model is that it is younger people that need more financial support and free time to raise their families.

Older people, who are often empty nesters after having raised a family and paid their mortgage, have more free time than they need. They often also have enough money to live comfortably if they were wise enough to save throughout their lives.

Maybe it is time to grant younger people raising families paid career breaks and letting older people get on with working beyond statutory retirement age if they so desire.

Employers understandably fret about the prospect of making retirement at a certain age an option for their employees rather than a requirement.

Employers in countries where there is no mandatory retirement age have dealt with older staff like any other employee. If older staff are not fit or capable of doing their job, employers should have the right to deal with it on grounds of competence.

Younger bosses should also be trained better on how to handle older workers.

The times when the older you got the more senior you were in a company no longer fits with today’s social and business realities. Continuing in employment voluntarily beyond retirement age will in most cases involve changing of roles of older employees. Should surgeons be allowed to continue operating on patients when they are 65 years old and beyond? Why not if they pass competence and capability tests.

They may also engage in training medical staff in educational institutions or taking management roles in hospitals.

Policymakers in government and in private business need to rethink how we look at the competence of elderly people.

They need to be passionate about eradicating ageism from the workplace and address a corporate climate where those beyond the age of 50 are prepared for the human scrapyard.

Older people need to clamour more for their rights, not just for a more decent pension, but also for the right to continue working beyond retirement age if they so desire and are still fit to do so.

johncassarwhite@yahoo.com