At a celebratory party in a friend’s splendidly floral garden this summer, I was greeted by a finger-wagging acquaintance. My expectation was a dressing down for some terrible sin on these pages. Instead, the pedantic, retired City professional berated me for still being at my keyboard at the age of 75. He seemed to think it was my solemn duty to head to the golf course or play tennis, read more and devote more time to charitable causes.
My decision to work on, when so many friends and colleagues have hung up their legal pads, swapped their suits for ill-fitting casual clothes and turned in their company cars is, I know, exceptional. After all, as a more youthful colleague John-Paul Ford Rojas reported last month, some 3,622,000 citizens aged 50 to 64 – mere striplings by my standards – have become economically inactive by no longer looking for work.
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recognised this was a huge waste of talent and manpower in an economy where the official figures show 884,000 known vacancies being advertised at the end of July. There is little common ground between Hunt and his successor Rachel Reeves. But getting Britain working again, as part of a ‘growth’ agenda, clearly is something which politicians across the divide must agree upon.
The short and cynical answer to the acquaintances badgering question about retirement was to say the money. As nice as it is to be a salaried employee, contributing to the national well-being as a hefty taxpayer, that is not the main reason. Having saved into a decent final salary pension scheme for most of my working life, of more than 50 years in journalism, money isn’t the main issue. It is no longer the motivator as it was in the 1990s when confronted with a chunky John Major era mortgage of 13.75pc and funding three kids at independent schools.
Alex Brummer’s main reason for working is that his journalism is just as relevant today as it was when he began, five decades ago
Nor was the interrogator right to somehow suggest that by working I might be neglecting fitness or contribution to society through charities. My daily routine begins always with a visit to the gym, or constitutional in Richmond Park (close to home), and I am a chairperson-trustee of two community charities.
My main reason for still working is that I believe that my economic and geo-political journalism still has something to offer today. It is as relevant as five decades ago when I was writing about what the sterling crisis, the winter of discontent and Britain’s 1976 application and loan from the International Monetary Fund.
That searing experience and having lived and written about elections in the US in the 1980s and financial crises, cascading down the years, has provided a certain wisdom. It still seems to be appreciated by you, dear reader, and my editor who so far has not shown me the door.
Mine I recognise is an enormously privileged position. In spite of having had my own health challenges (I spent 2023 in cancer treatment) it has never been necessary to sign myself off work unlike those less fortunate. Indeed, the intellectual challenge and rigour of journalism was helpful in navigating my way through six months of chemotherapy and the nasty side-effects which came with it. Nor, like a cohort of the economically inactive, have I been required to be the carer of ageing relatives. That stressful task fell to others.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett is a great role model, still going strong at 94
Partly, my work ethic is down to heritage and role models. My dear late father Michael retired at 65 but immediately began another career working with my brother. At the age of 90 he would take the bus or train (sensibly he had stopped driving when he retired) and would travel into deepest Sussex to view and do the bidding at antique auctions. As for role models, legendary investor Warren Buffett is still going strong at 94.
And among our friends in the US, two of our closest pals were distinguished professors at the University of Virginia into their early 80s, only stepping back in recent times for health reasons. They are still reading, researching and writing away.
One must recognise that working in an airy office in central London with the freedom to comment on the nation’s financial and economic affairs is far more rewarding than many other jobs.
Age can be a barrier in some jobs, but for many, the social interaction of working with different generations is uplifting
Age can be a barrier to working in construction, the power industry, caring professions and elsewhere which require physical stamina. Journalism can require people to work long hours on complex subjects, plus the energy and willingness to get out to interview and report.
Keeping the flag flying at work, however, is terrific for one’s mental health. One recognises, however, that the strains and stresses of the pandemic and its aftermath have made life difficult for some of the 400,000 added to the economically inactive list since Covid-19.
Going to a workplace is much more invigorating than operating from home. In the office one is able to interact with much younger people, understand their interests and gain access to their insights. The social interaction is uplifting. Most importantly it is terrific for mental agility. I appreciate that doing the crossword, Sudoku, Wordle and chatting over a pint at the Pig & Whistle have much to commend. But I believe that the experience of a lifetime of reporting and comment can be invaluable to one’s output and those of colleagues.
Age and wisdom, in any sphere of life, is greatly unappreciated in the Britain. In America, older people, in all manner of work from the boardroom, to working in hospitality and even the White House, are respected and even revered. In the UK, we don’t adhere enough to the Protestant work ethic. Work is good for one’s physical and mental well-being. Britain’s army of economically inactive people, some shirkers rather than workers, need to be cajoled into giving it another try.