After years of engaging the key in the ignition every morning and starting the day with a meeting of minds, Irish retirees are now busy trying to find something worthwhile to do. Whether it's charity or consultancy or community work, bridge groups or marathon running, there's nothing most people over 65 wouldn't put their minds to, just to have a challenge.

But no matter how much Botox you've had and how you've sand blasted those lines, toned those biceps and kept the cholesterol down, you're no longer a recognised, valuable member of the working community when you've met that final 'sending home' age of 65.

Preserving youth is purely for the appearance, it seems.

And no matter how young you've managed to look, having the label of a 'pensioner' is hardly sexy and it can be one of the most shameful of humiliations. There's more to satisfaction at age 65 than a bus pass and a lie in, or even a working, paying pension fund, if they exist.

How many long walks can one go for in any given day in Irish weather?

Retirement is a social disorder epidemic among older people which is supported wholeheartedly by the state.

In its most common form, it eats away at self esteem, which then affects mental capacities, it shatters social networks and rapidly reduces energy stores; it lets loose on the suburbs and townlands of Ireland men and women who have no properly developed method for handling all that time, and no real reason not to be spending it at work. . .

Truth is, giving up work is in the main bad for the health that retirements were supposed to be trying to preserve. Work brings more rewards than remuneration and those in employment are generally more mentally healthy than those outside it.

Working makes us struggle, and that's good. It makes us get up, get showered, get cranky, get out there. It makes us think, criticise, moan and wish we had a lotto win so we could give up.

It's healthier generally to be in a job we'd like to leave than to be sacked from that job.

And so being retired just like that, can bring more negative than positive outcomes in terms of mental if not physical well being.

Pensioning people off is entirely culturally facilitated, being based on a mix of ageist superstition and simplistic economics; retiring people to pensions to let youngsters into the workforce isn't required in a full employment economy and although sharpness of memory and general acuity reduces with age, other abilities and competencies increase.

In the conceptual age we inhabit, emotional intelligence, dextrous social skills, acquired wisdom and a mellow approach to crisis are much needed if there is to be a workplace balance between the machismo of youth and the more refined sensibilities built up over years of exposure to real life experience.

According to an unscientific survey of over 65s to my knowledge, there isn't a day goes by that they don't feel afresh the embittered residue of having been set out to pasture and relegated to the pension playpen where things just aren't quite as much fun as it appears from the outside.

Women, probably smaller in numbers if we're honest . . . often having returned to work with gusto after rearing their families . . . report that they arranged lots of their social outlets around the workplace and so, reaching 65 brings a devastating effect on the structure of their lives and the quality and quantity of their social interactions and the sustainability of their marriages.

It should be obvious by now to policymakers and pension planners alike, that there is really no such thing as a 'pensioner' any more. It's an outdated concept and one predicated on a vision of aging which is not only socially redundant but psychologically flawed. To say Mary's slower on the uptake than Maeve is outlawed if they're 57 and 59, but it's deemed acceptable at 65.

Working makes us get as close as we mere mortals appear able to get, reflecting on our limitations, and appreciate the leisure time having less time allows.

Research shows that while older workers do experience more fatigue, a shorter day, and shorter weeks would be a more desirable alternative to the sudden termination.

Respecting and recognising older workers for their strength, rather than being blind to them in favour of the more obvious, bold and often overly brash antics of their juniors in their so-called prime, would benefit everyone.

Providing an alternative working week, an innovative schedule and novel reward practices, ensuring motivation and social support systems are in place are crucial.

This way, older people can work as well as hit Mondello every Wednesday, head to Capri every February or just finish re-reading Lasting Lust.

It would reap rewards for our economy, be more honest for society and create less pressure on our health service than the current benevolent concern and unfortunate 'act your old-age' philosophy we promulgate but have long outgrown.

Ask the expert: From the employer's perspective, working past 65 provides more reliable employees, who take less time off with questionable illness/hangovers (although slightly higher for genuine illness), possess better communication skills in today's customer driven economy, are great liaison bridges between young workers and young managers (particularly those who skipped the chapter on empathy in their management training).

However, from the mature person's perspective they often see themselves as dismissed and redundant. Particularly in formal competitive recruitment processes where it can occur that the younger manager feels threatened by the experience and credentials of the mature worker.

The government should strongly consider postponed retirement courses to facilitate the re-employment of mature persons who wish to continue their careers, and most importantly, their valued role in society and the economy. To help ensure the success of such programmes, workers should be encouraged to learn new skills in open/distance learning environments from the age of 50+ to promote a smooth transition (with new contemporary skills) into their post 65 roles.

The solution is to:
>> Promote a sense of continued employable worth and place value on that lifetime of experience.

>> Advocate networking type approaches to re-employment that remove the mature applicant worker from the competitive rat race.

>> Adopt new skills, in particular, 'train the trainer' type courses which facilitate the recycling of their knowledge and experience.

>> Encourage companies to employ mature mentors and job coaches to assist younger/ new recruits through the induction process.

Expert information was provided by Jeremy Dixon, Honorary Secretary of the Division of Work and Organisational Psychology (DWOP) of the Psychological Society of Ireland.

www. psihq. ie