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The stereotypes abound: that Americans 55 and older are over the hill, on the shelf, and their headlights are getting dim. When the Social Security Act of 1935 established the retirement age of 65, average longevity was 62. In 2012, 77 years later, despite the reality that longevity for men is 78 and 80 for women, a pervasive negative sentiment remains about older workers and aging in America.

Our national focus is on hiding the wrinkles and shedding the years, thus perpetuating ageism thinking and encouraging people to conceal their age. We shouldn’t focus on the problems of an aging population, without understanding and taking advantage of the benefits and opportunities.

Myths and stereotypes about aging are prevalent, despite a massive amount of contrary data. Here are some of the disconnects that create dilemmas:

1. America’s focus is on marketing to younger people, while older people have the money. According to the Harvard Business Review, people 55 and older own or control more than 70% of the total accumulated private wealth in America and account for 50% of total discretionary spending.

2. Companies spend much more on training and development of younger workers than on older workers, despite the reality that investment in the older workers would have a better pay-off because younger workers 20-34 have more than three times the turnover of workers 55-64.[1]

3. Employee benefit programs, particularly defined pension plans, encourage people to retire earlier, even though many would like to continue working longer and are able to add substantial value. In fact, laws and public policies often discourage or provide a disincentive for companies to continue using workers 55+ and for people 55+ to continue working, instead of encouraging both groups to do so.

4. National economic growth and our standard of living may be reduced if workers 55+ are not provided with opportunities to continue working (i.e., they will be drawing from instead of contributing to the economy), yet there is no strong recognition of the need to do so.

5. Research shows that millions of Americans want to continue working after retirement (80% of the Baby Boomers indicate that they intend to do so[2]), the largest percentage on a part-time basis, but most companies aren’t providing phased retirement and other flexible workplace options that will help them retain and recruit workers 55+ who can continue adding value.

6. Medicare and Social Security are financially unsustainable, yet we only apply band-aids.  The retirement age must be changed to reflect that people are living longer, in better health and able to continue working for substantially more time. Helping workers over 55 to remain productively engaged would ease Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid problems and would contribute to the country’s economic growth.

The reality is that Americans are living substantially longer lives and in better health, but our thinking about aging and retirement remains largely unchanged. We are doing our country a disservice when we view people in terms of chronological age rather than considering their overall capabilities and their ability to add value. It’s time to change this paradigm.

In support of this paradigm shift, the Center for Productive Longevity (CPL), an organization serving as the bridge between people 55 and older and opportunities that enable them to continue in productive activities, has initiated a national competition, the Later-Life Story Contest, for people 50 and older. The competition has two categories: Entrepreneur Success Stories and Inspirational Later-Life Stories. A panel of three independent judges will select one winner from each category who will receive $1,000 and a specially designed trophy. CPL will post the best stories on its website (ctrpl.org) under “Success Stories.” The contest deadline is August 31, and winners will be announced on October 1, 2012.

To submit a story, visit http://www.ctrpl.org/laterlifestorycontest and complete a submission form. Entrants must be 55 and older, have a compelling story to share, and be willing to have it posted on the CPL website for viewing and for possible publication. Stories may also be sent to James Hooks at jhooks@ctrpl.org. 

As people continue to live longer and retire earlier, the term “Third-Stage Adulthood” has more relevance than ever before. Referring to people 62-85 years old, this stage of life is chock-full of senior workers who are qualified and ready to continue working after the traditional retirement age of 65 or sooner. This means that there is a large and growing talent pool with experience, expertise, seasoned judgment, and proven performance (referred to by CPL as EESP), to meet the workforce needs of the 21st century.

The concept of “Third-Stage Adulthood” was first conceived in a paper, “The Evolution of Adulthood: A New Stage” co-authored in 2000 by Dr. Elliott Jaques, who conceived the mid-life crisis in 1965, and CPL Founder and CEO William Zinke. Zinke created CPL, which is based in Boulder, Colorado, to stimulate the substantially increased engagement of people 55 and older in productive activities, paid and volunteer, where they are qualified and ready to continue adding value.

Now in 2012, the concept of Third-Stage Adulthood is even more important than when the term was coined. CPL urges everyone to recalibrate their thinking for this new reality because the results could be dire if action isn’t taken. If Baby Boomers are pushed to the sidelines, the nation’s entitlement programs (e.g. Social Security and Medicare) will become unsustainable even sooner than projected. To prevent this crisis, the country should tap the talent pool of retired workers in Third-Stage Adulthood and put their knowledge, skills and abilities to use.

“Embracing ‘Third-Stage Adulthood’ can be a positive life-changer as people enter this next phase,” says William Zinke, 85. “The concept urges society to recognize that older people can continue to add value for significantly longer periods of time and that they should be viewed as individuals, instead of all being lumped under the clichés of being ‘over the hill’ and ‘out of the game.’  The result will be that millions of older people with EESP can continue contributing to, instead of drawing from, the national economy and society.”

CPL subscribes to a concept of adulthood that falls into three stages, described as follows:

First stage of early adulthood (18-40) – the time to build experience and expertise; to decide whether to work in the private, public, or non-profit sectors and perhaps even gain some cross-sector experience; to decide whether to develop a career in a company or to become an entrepreneur; to focus on the development of particular skills and abilities; to build a solid foundation for the next two adult stages.

Second stage of mid-adulthood (40-62) – the time when experience and expertise produce problem- solving capabilities and sound judgment (CPL likes the saying that good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment) and perhaps even the beginnings of wisdom. Any mid-life crises have been traversed and assurance and self-confidence have become more firmly established as a result of learning how to function more effectively. There is also continuing growth and development during this stage.

New-stage of mature adulthood (62-85) – the time when many individuals, although not all (e.g. people who have been engaged primarily in physical labor, who have not maintained a commitment to physical fitness, or who have debilities or disabilities), can continue to be significant contributors. They have had about 40 years to gain experience and expertise, to develop seasoned judgment and proven records of performance and to build their intellectual and social capital. While documented research indicates that cognitive capability may have plateaued for some, the intellectual growth curve continues to move upward for people who have continued to remain productively engaged.

CPL launched the Later-Life Story Contest on June 1 to solicit empowering stories from people 55 and older. The competition has two separate categories: Entrepreneur Success Stories and Inspirational Later-Life Stories. A panel of three independent judges will select one winner from each category who will receive $1,000 and a specially designed trophy. CPL will post the best stories on its website (ctrpl.org) throughout the contest under “Success Stories.” The contest runs through August 31, and winners will be announced on October 1, 2012.

To submit a story, visit www.ctrpl.org/laterlifestorycontest and complete a submission form. Entrants must be at least 55, have a compelling story to share, and be willing to have it posted on the CPL website for viewing and for possible publication. Stories may also be emailed to James Hooks, CPL’s Director of Marketing and Technology, at jhooks@ctrpl.org.

For more information on CPL, the contest and Entrepreneur Success Stories, visit ctrpl.org or Facebook at facebook.com/CTRPL.

The Center for Productive Longevity (CPL), which serves as the bridge between people 55 and older and opportunities that enable them to continue in productive activities, is organizing a nationwide competition to select the best entrepreneur success story and inspiring life story from people 55 and older.

The Later-Life Story Contest begins on June 1, 2012 and ends on August 31, 2012 with the winner in each category selected by a panel of three independent judges. Each winner will receive $1,000 and a specially designed trophy. The best stories will be posted on the CPL website throughout the duration of the contest. The winners will be announced on October 1, 2012 and will be posted on the CPL website (ctrpl.org) under “Success Stories”.

CPL created the contest to stimulate discussion and dialogue about how people 55 and older can continue adding value to their extended lives in an era when they are living 30 years longer than people did at the beginning of the 20th century. The Later-Life Story Contest is intended to achieve three objectives:

1) Stimulate people to continue leading meaningful and rewarding lives after reaching the age of 55. Baby Boomers were acculturated to believe that when they reached a certain age (55, 60, 65), they were over the hill and out of the game. Many of them need to understand that, with their increased longevity, they have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs or lead inspirational lives.

2) Demonstrate that older people can remain productively engaged and live inspiring lives into their latter 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond. There are 78 million Baby Boomers who began reaching traditional retirement age of 65 in 2011 and will continue to do so each year through 2029 at the rate of 4.2 million per year. These are people with experience, expertise, seasoned judgment and proven performance (referred to as EESP). Many of them have also acquired some accumulated wisdom. At a time when unemployment is high and economic growth low, creating a new business is a bright spot on a gloomy employment horizon. Stories about how older entrepreneurs have successfully taken the new-business route may stimulate others to do so. Stories about how people 55 and older have led inspirational lives may have a similar impact.

3) Change the pervasive national mindset that when people reach a certain age, they should move to the sidelines. This thinking encourages older workers to shed the wrinkles, hide the years, and pretend to be younger than they are. With people living substantially longer lives, Americans must recognize and find ways to enable this large and growing talent pool to continue adding value.

“We look forward to learning about the trailblazers around the country and to celebrating their stories,” says William Zinke, 85, Founder and President of CPL. “We believe that this contest can achieve these three objectives and look forward to sharing success stories with the public.”

We have selected three highly qualified judges for the competition:

• Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging, employment, and retirement. She has conducted research on these issues for organizations such as The Conference Board, AARP, UC Berkeley, and the U.S. Administration on Aging. Nationally, she has lectured extensively to the business community, professional groups, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
• Greg Merrill is President and CEO of the National Older Worker Career Center (NOWCC) and former Chairman of the NOWCC Board of Directors. The NOWCC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting experienced workers as a valuable and critical component of the nation’s workforce. Since its establishment in 1997 NOWCC has, through hundreds of workers ages 55+, provided over 13 million hours of dedicated, experienced labor to federal agencies.
• Fred Mandell is a catalyst for personal change and co-author with Kathleen Jordan of Becoming a Life Change Artist: 7 Creative Skills to Reinvent Your Life at Any Stage. Fred’s life and work has been featured in the Public Television Series “Boomers: Redefining Life After 50.” Fred currently serves on the Board of Directors of both the Life Planning Network and Discovering What’s Next.

All have had substantial experience regarding the productive engagement of people 55 and older.

To submit a story, visit www.ctrpl.org/laterlifestorycontest and complete a submission form.  Entrants must be over the age of 55, have a compelling story to share, and be willing to have it posted on the CPL website for viewing by the general public and for possible publication. Stories may also be emailed to James R. Hooks, Director of Marketing and Technology, at jhooks@ctrpl.org.

For more information on CPL, the contest, and Success Stories, visit www.ctrpl.org or Facebook at facebook.com/CTRPL.