The news from Germany is that the retirement age is going to be raised to 70. My German friends will be relieved to know that the change isn’t scheduled to take place until the 2090s. At least it will only be their great, great, great grandchildren who will have to work until they drop, in some cases quite literally. As someone who retired, at least from full-time work, at the age of 57 – and that’s old compared with some of my friends who escaped the rat race before they were even 50 – I can honestly say that it was the best thing I ever did. I have no idea why anyone would want to work a day longer than they have to.
A few examples. I worked with a bloke who stayed on into his seventies. Indeed, he received a long service award for serving the government for 50 years. Then, he died, in service. No long and happy retirement for him. Many others died before even reaching pension age, or died shortly after reaching it. So sad, particularly if they could have afforded to retire early, even on a reduced income.
Obviously, my income dropped when I retired and I plugged some of the gap by taking various part-time jobs. They were purely a means to an end. Having more time was far more important to me than having more money. I know not everyone thinks that way.
One crucial thing to remember is the effects of ageing. I am not quite the doddery old pensioner that I make myself out to be but certain tasks are harder than they used to be. Every football injury I had has come back to haunt me, including a serious back injury 44 years ago. There’s arthritis here and all manner of medical conditions that require ongoing medication. Even a long drive that would have been straightforward a decade ago can mean painful joint and muscle stiffness that seems to take forever to ease off. The lines of age run deep.
I know it’s a cliché but I learned long ago that this is real life, not a training run. It could all be over if not tomorrow then sooner than I would wish. Rather than just creating an endless bucket list of things to do and things to own, I am doing things that are on that list. I am going to have that Beatles weekend in Liverpool, I am going on the ‘troubles’ tour in Belfast, I am going back to the Netherlands next year and I have long stopped going to the same places year in, year out because there is so much more of the world to see and less and less time to do it.
I know I was very lucky. Back in 2014, I was working for the DWP on benefit fraud and David Cameron’s hardline Conservative government, in which some Liberal Democrats disgracefully took jobs, decided it wasn’t worth the cost or effort of investigating major fraud, preferring to go after the easy hits instead and offered many of us exit packages. I did not need to be asked twice. Cameron’s was a terrible government, that threw millions into poverty and trashed public services, paving the way for Brexit, but I’ll always be grateful to him, the slimy little toad that he is.
I never understand why people fret about what they will do if they finish work, fearing boredom or whatever. I have never played as much golf, read as many books, listened to as much music, written so much, travelled so much, spent quality time with family and friends and generally had a very good time, far better than I would have had flogging myself at work. I really enjoyed my last job (for the DWP, not the part time one for that shitty little charity Headway) but not as much as I enjoy not working at all.
The government – and that will be all governments – wants you to work longer. The former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt (misprint) told older people to “get off the golf course and get back to work” to do all those vital jobs like delivering junk food on motorbikes or being treated like a slave in a mass warehouse. Because that’s far more fun than doing things you actually want to do. Well, sod that.
For what it’s worth, my view is that if you are within a decade of retiring, you have three years to decide what you want to do. If, as is possible, a far right government – let’s say one led by Nigel Farage – comes to power the chance to retire early, especially if you work in the public sector, will all but disappear. You’d better watch out for that public sector pension, too, because Nige, you can be sure, will be coming for you. He hates state benefits and the most costly state benefit of all is the state Retirement Pension. And whatever you do, don’t get ill because there won’t be any sickness benefits and there won’t be an NHS. You may think I have digressed too far and maybe I have but do not underestimate the terrible effects a far right government would have on your life. We have been warned. Look at the USA, USA, USA.
My probably unwanted advice is simple: get out while you can and live the best life you can for as long as you can. It’s all very well being the richest person in the graveyard but unfortunately you’ll be too dead to enjoy it. And don’t bank on there being a Heaven or Hell, either. Liam Gallagher may ‘sing’ about how he wants to live forever but on the basis of all available evidence he isn’t going to and neither are you.
By all means live to work but don’t say I didn’t warn you when Old Father Time catches up with you when you were least expecting him.
