The Storting has decided to adjust the life expectancy in our pension system. Then the time should be right to also adjust the life expectancy of all kinds of senior measures, both in and outside of working life. We live longer in Norway. We should be happy about that. In recent decades, the average life expectancy in Norway has increased by between 12 and 14 minutes every hour of the day. As we live longer, we also have to work longer. Therefore, a broad majority in the Storting has meritoriously adjusted our pension system to life expectancy. A colleague who is ten years younger than me has to work one year longer to receive an equivalent pension payment from the National Insurance. Even in the state, where they still stick with a general age limit, they have decided to raise it from 70 to 72 years. Financing the welfare society of the future The changes in the retirement age are helping to finance the welfare society of the future. Older people must stay at work longer, young people must enter working life more quickly, more people must go from part-time to full-time, and we have a common goal across working life to reduce sickness absence and to include more people. It is crucial for us to be able to solve the challenges we face. Both the healthcare system, the Armed Forces, the green shift and other industries are crying out for labour. Thus, one would think that the call was clear to our older workers. It’s not that simple. One day, the elected representatives say that we must work as long as possible. On the second day, we are offered publicly funded activities where 60-year-olds are invited to card games and needlework in the middle of working hours. Canasta and chatter Take, for example, my home municipality of Bærum, which has prepared a number of measures for us over 60 years. All the measures have in common that they assume that I do not go to work. Every other Wednesday at At 12.30, for example, we can meet at a knitting café for what the municipality calls a pleasant chat. Mondays and Thursdays at 11 there is a pole walking group on Kalvøya. In addition, we can play the card game canasta every Friday morning, closely followed by the performance “Music for the gray gold” in Sandvika. But last time I checked, I was busy with work meetings at all those times. Even though I have turned 60, and despite the fact that the municipality wants to embrace everyone over sixty. Several thousand man-years are taken out of working life. Bærum municipality’s measures at least aim to include. Then the situation is worse with the state measures. Every year, the authorities take around 4,500 man-years out of working life by legislating an extra week of holiday for everyone over 60. In addition, many businesses, both in the private and public sector, have extra so-called senior days in the collective agreement. For example, if I had worked for the state, I would have had an additional eight days off just because I have turned 60. Such days off add up to many thousands of man-years that could have been used for important work – every single year. And the higher the retirement age, the more years of costly senior measures we get. The senior week in the Holiday Act was introduced almost 50 years ago. We then had a completely different working life, and the expected life expectancy has since then increased by approx. 8 years. What was meant as an appreciation for having worked for a long time has now become part of the problem in Norwegian working life. Spekter’s own top management survey from last autumn shows that 80 per cent of the top managers in Spekter’s member companies are struggling to get hold of competent labour. We cannot solve this by asking experienced and skilled employees to work less. Competence is the best senior initiative All research shows that the best senior initiative is replenishing competence that gives coping skills. Most of all, it is about making the seniors comfortable with the digital tools. 93 percent of us over sixty say that we need to strengthen our digital skills. The risk may be that many choose to retire because they cannot bear the thought of the next upgrade of the IT system. They lose community in the workplace, while employers and society lose valuable years of experience, work capacity and tax revenue. Farewell to outdated senior schemes The Storting has decided to adjust the life expectancy of our pension system, and that is very good. Then the time should be right to also adjust the life expectancy of all kinds of senior measures, both outside and in working life. Then we have to say goodbye to outdated and well-intentioned senior schemes such as extra days off and holiday weeks for those of us over 60. The sixth holiday week, which was introduced in 1976, must be adjusted to age 68. The magazine ‘We Over 60’ should be adjusted to something closer to ‘We Over 70’. An added bonus is that they can at the same time stop sending me questions about whether I want to become a subscriber. I read a while ago that half of everyone who has ever lived over the age of 65 in the history of the world is alive on earth today. Admittedly, some believe that this figure is exaggerated. It is difficult to be completely sure of this, because systematic statistics were poor a few thousand years ago. In any case, 60-year-olds are here to stay. There will be more of us, we are in better shape, and we will contribute for many more years. And the next person who asks me the question “How long are you going to last now that you’ve turned sixty?” can meet me for canasta duel at dawn. Send us your opinion Want to write? Feel free to contact us at news Ytring with your post. The guidelines can be found here. Published 01.10.2024, at 12:38 p.m
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Farewell to senior schemes – Statement
