When discussing living longer with teaching staff I sometimes encounter a defensive response along the lines – ‘I’m not comfortable with the idea of telling our students that they are going to have to work longer – they won’t understand’ to which my answer is ‘Give them credit…’ I work with many people making the […]
With the prospect of a Sixth From College Careers Day looming I’ve been thinking about the challenges facing our school leavers and how to prepare them for a life that we know will be significantly different to that experienced by their parents and grandparents. I use the word ‘different’ because it will not necessarily be better […]
I have written at length about the changing nature of later life and, more recently, about the prospects for ‘millennials’ – those facing 70 years of working life before retiring in their late 80s. But what about those stuck in the middle? The working generation sandwiched between elderly relatives who seem to be living forever […]
While I am a huge Apple fan I am increasingly concerned with a fundamental flaw in their products – the description. It started with the i-Phone. This product was always far more than just a phone but 10 years on ‘making a call’ doesn’t even feature in the top 10 uses for the device. Then […]
I was recently a guest at a STEMX award ceremony (they are the folks who encourage young people into careers in science and technology). It was an inspiring venue with the awards being presented by local dignitaries, resplendent in their chains of office. The messages too were upbeat and encouraging – you’re wanted, you’re needed […]
During the recent election campaign debate Amber Rudd poked fun at Jeremy Corbin by suggesting that his policies were funded from a mystical ‘Magic Money Tree’. As it turns out she was far closer to the truth than she might imagine. Unlike us, governments do have access to a ‘magical money tree’ of sorts – […]
The central message emerging from EML’s research is that those who are successful at making the most of their extra years are the ones who are able to strike a balance – the balance between six aspects of life identified by focus groups as being essential – maintaining relationships, valuing possessions, keeping active, optimising health, […]
This was quite a common question when EML first started talking about the global phenomenon of longevity. In the western world the increase started earlier but has been slower while in Asia life expectancy has nearly doubled in less than a lifetime. Globally human life expectancy has increased 50% in the last 50 years. What […]
When I talk to people about living longer I can see their thought processes develop as the real implications begin to dawn. Initially the subject is dismissed as ‘something they already know’. There are constant media reports covering many of the common implications – growing demands on the health service, an increase in state pension age […]
It is often a case of mutual amazement. When people ask me about EML and I tell them expertise is in understanding the many implications of living longer they look amazed – ‘everyone knows that – its all over the news’ – how can you build a business around that? We then start to talk […]