Your Stories

• British 76-year old, New Zealand

  Born in England at the start of WW2, adopted, living near London. Apprenticed at 17 as Student engineer, migrated to Australia 1965 with wife and child. Migrated to New Zealand 1976 and retired at age 65. My career covered a wide range of industries, progressing up the slippery ladder to senior management positions. Apart from being self employed at various times, I suppose my highest position was of Hospital Director and Director of Personnel for a major hospital board. Retirement was the hardest job I’ve undertaken, but now I am busy re-inventing myself while learning new skills.
  I recognise and accept the future certainty of change, and am confident that time I have invested gaining self knowledge and working on my intangible assets will equip me to deal with the uncertainties of life in the next 20 years. I believe I have learnt to avoid unnecessary stress, and endeavour to live a healthy lifestyle. The best thing I have ever done is to completely alternate the Activities of Daily Living with my wife. We change duties every fortnight at the same time our pension is due. This means I get to buy whatever is needed to feed both of us in accordance with the menu I draw up and cook, while my wife carries out the other duties including cleaning, laundry etc. In this way we have equally shared responsibility and opportunity. I believe that 99% of the conflict between men and women is the result of inequality in all respects.

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The Book

In The 100-Year Life – Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, published June 2nd 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing, Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott outline the challenges and intelligent choices that all of us, of any age, need to make in order to turn greater life expectancy into a gift and not a curse. This is not an issue for when we are old but an urgent and imminent one.Extremely well received by critics and readers alike, the book has received extensive coverage around the world.