In the Western world the number ofpeople in retirement isgrowing at an unprecedented rate. There is a lot o f potential among the elderly, especially among retired engineers, which ought to be harnessed and encouraged

for the beneJit ofthe nation and also for the individuals themselves. The article explores this situation and suggests some ways of tapping this yesource.

s the UN International Year of Older Persons’ draws to a close, it is timely to give some thought to those of us in retirement. When I retired just over three years ago at

the age of 60, it was with mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety-excitement at the prospect of exploring

A a world out there quite dlfferent from engineering and work, yet anxiety at growing old and the possibility of missing the day-to-day stimulus of technology and learning and social contact with like-minded colleagues.

My perception before retirement had been that old age was a relatively brief period for most people and was often quite miserable and p a i d , with fahng health and mental faculties, not to mention living on a greatly reduced income. I now believe that the reahty is that thngs have changed dramatically recently and are likely to change even more in the next few decades; so much so, that perhaps we should look on retirement as the ‘Thrd Age’, which is as important as the two ages of ‘Preparation’ and ‘Worlung Life’ whch precede it.

Some demographics

According to national statistics, we in the Western world are now, it seems, enjoying much longer and healther lives than ever before. Medlcal advances and improvements in lifestyle and &et are claimed to have had the greatest impact. These have resulted in a large increase in the number of older people, with the biggest increases occurring for men. In 1901 the life

expectancy of 60 year olds was 13 years, whereas by 1992 this had risen to 18 years. Between 1974 and 1995, the percentage of the UK population older than retirement age increased from 16.9% to 18.2%. Over the same period those over 75 increased from 4.9 to 7% (Government Statistical Services). It is estimated that by 2020 three people d be working for each adult retired and that by 2030 27% of the UK population will be over 80 years old. Some recent studies are suggesting that a small percentage of us can expect to live to about 120 years old. The Treasury sees this as a growing financial burden.

It is not surprising therefore to learn that the number of engineers in retirement is also growing at an unprecedented rate. This is not only because they are living longer but also because many engineers are retiring earlier or being made redundant in their fifties and, like other professionals, finding it very difficult to find satisfactory full-time employment. (The recent scare that people working near electromagnetic fields might have a lower life expectancy does not appear to have had any noticeable effect on the mortality statistics

ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNAL DECEMBER 1999

264

for electrical engineers!) For example, here are some recent figures for the IEE:

0 Of a UK nienibershp of approximately 106 000,

0 Of approximately 48 000 UK Members and Fell-

themselves. On the other hand, if elderly people are allowed to deteriorate and adopt prematurely an old age mentahty, then they will indeed become part of a huge, unbearable burden on the state finances.

What needs to be or can be done? According to guru Peter Drucker, the retired can become a large national

21 000 are retired.

ows, there are approxi- mately 17 000 in the age range 60 to 90 years who are retired.

0 Of IEE members opting to receive the SET Division’s Engineering Science and Education

Jouvnal in 1996, 18% were over 64 years of age.

0 Of 2819 members of the North Eastern Centre, 555 are retired.

0 Fig. 1 shows the hsto- gram of the ages at death of members mentioned in the Obituary columns of IEE News in January and March 1999. The

n 25r ’

65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 age at death

Fig. 1 Distribution of ages at death of IEE members mentioned in the Obituary columns of /€E Mews for

January and March 1999

asset. In h s book ‘The new realities’, he reported that in the USA in the 1980s the volunteer sector was the fastest growing sector in the US economy*. One out of two American adults worked as a ‘volunteer, a large proportion of these volunteers being retired. It also created a sphere of meaningful citizenshp as well as having huge financial value. Drucker said it was worth 10% of the US gross national product in 1985, but it does not appear in the official national statistics. Training was a

total population sample was 145, of which about crucial part of t h s success as growth was due to more 10% died before the age of 65. The percentages effective management and increased productivity and referred to are for five-year bands and are for those was not due simply to increased charity donations. who died aged 65 years or older. The histogram Drucker recommended that, in the national interest, suggests that if you make it to 65, then there is a this voluntary sector should be given encouragement, roughly 50% chance that you d live untd your includmg training and financial incentives, as early eighties. volunteers should not be out of pocket.

Retired engineers are a group which could bring An untapped resource much to society. Many will have time, patience and

wisdom, plus experience and slulls in many areas, Depending on how we look at this phenomenon, it including problem solving, design and product can be seen as a growing, huge burden development, quahty, strategic thnk- on the State or as a unique, ing, planning, systems, handling underuthsed resource. I believe that in complexity, innovation and manage- the case of engineers it is a valuable Retired ment. Although some of the resource of technical and management knowledge and SMS of retired s k d s and experience, whch is engineers 81re 8l members may, in common with those currently relatively untapped. Coupled wh\eh of active engineers, be becoming ,

with the fact that elderly people are obsolete, much is transferable and time now on average healthier and more e0uM bring independent, e.g. SUS for mentoring mentally active than those of the and assisting with the development of previous generation, the quahty of this mulch to young engineers. With a little help and resource as well as the quantity become encouragement, most engineers could evident. s.ociefiy keep up to date in some areas and,

As to the projected increased cost, perhaps more importantly, become most retired people live quite modestly. computer/IT literate. This latter skill is As people live longer, it is anticipated that in the not becoming essential for the retired person determined too distant fiture, most will eventually die after a to leadafilllife. relatively short terminal illness or a h e n t . It is expected therefore that only a minority d incur high costs of Help for and by retired engineers treatment and care over many years, a situation whch is currently causing great concern among the elderly. Help is required for retired engineers in at least two

There is obviously a lot of potential among the areas. First, to help the retired members themselves elderly whch ought to be harnessed and encouraged and, second, to help retired members help others. for the benefit of the nation and also for the indwiduals Several organisations already exist to help older

ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNAL DECEMBER 1999

265

people but these may need to be brought to the and serve members. He could have added that the same attention of the retired. For example, ARP/050 (the technology could be used to help and recruit Association of Retired and Persons Over which volunteers from unemployed and retired engineers. In was established over ten years ago as a force for the over the first instance, it would help to have a database fifties, aims in particular to enhance the quahty of life recording SUS, availability, experience etc. for elderly people. Retired people also often need The IEE publications serve us well with technical access to help and advice with important matters such information in the many excellent journals and as health, wellness and finance. proceedmgs but have little directed specifically at

retired engineers-apart perhaps from the Obituary Promoting science and technology column!

There are several areas in addtion to charity work However, change is afoot. Relatively unnoticed, where retired engineers can be helped to help others several Retired Members (RM) Sections have been set and to return somethng to society. up in the last few years, often under The main driver for change in the local Centre (South Western,

North Eastern, East Anglian, Surrey, SE and SW Scotland). The objectives

society is stdl technology, yet the public at large is generally ignorant

of the North Eastern RM Section, of which I am a member, include

as to what it is about. With some assistance, retired engineers can

assisting members who wish to use their professional skills in voluntary educate. In particular, they can

help with enhancing the public activities, as well as running technical and social activities for members. Perhaps the time is right to set up an

view of engineering and the profession. I recently became an

umbrella organisation to assist with establishing and co-ordinating RM Museum in Newcastle, an organi-

sation whch aims to promote and the sections. interest in and enthusiasm for The Internet is being exploited to science and technology in young proffessiow publish an interactive electronic

Retiffed eng’oneeffs can

help to change attitudes and to hellp with enhancing the

public view Associate of the Discovery off engineering

people. One of the many organised events held annually is ‘Science works’, a five day science fair for primary schools. Nationally there are a growing number of organisations helping in this area. One example is COPUS (Committee on the Public Understanding of S~ience)~, a joint initiative between the Royal Society, the Royal Institution and the British Association to promote projects whch enable public access to science, engineering and technology. Help in the form of grants and advice is available. In schools, where it is claimed that only 20% ofpupils’ potential is acheved, engineers could help teachers and pupils more than they do now with engineering and science. Further and higher education can probably benefit with help from engineers for activities such as mentoring, project work and personal development of students. The European Network of Older Volunteers5 encourages the use of volunteers in schools and the use of financial incentives for retired volunteers.

Enter the IEE So what can the IEE do? The basis for helping

engineers in retirement already exists. The IEE Mission (according to the ‘Mdlennium Strategy’) is ‘to provide a broad range of services to members to assist them in developing their careers by improving their capabhties as engineers and to play their full part in contributing to society’. The IEE’s programme includes providing resources, information and support for schools.

In his inaugural address6 as IEE President Dr. John Taylor said that more use should be made ofIT to reach

journal, the Computer Forum; the same technology could be used to

promote retired member activities. I will close with two quotations:

‘The aged wdl have changed substantially in the future. They wdl not be as impaired in physical function as many of the elderly today Hence the perception of society towards the aged wdl change because the aged will have changed.’ (Professor Susan Greenfield, writing in The Sunday Times).

‘With a declining population of younger people of workmg age, it seems inevitable that retired volunteers and older workers will play an increasing role in society.’ (ARP/050’s Good- Times, January 1999)

References

1 See http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/iyop 2 DRUCKER, P E: ‘The new realities’ (Mandarin, 1990),

3 See http://www.arp.org.uk 4 See http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/copus/index.htm 5 See http://www.rsvpuk.freeserve.co.uk/enov.html 6 TAYLOR, J.: ‘Engineering the Information Age’, Eng.

Manage. J , December 1998, 8, (6), pp.277-287

ISBN 0749303557

0 IEE: 1999

Dr. Bill Bell is a Corresponding Member of the ESEJ Editorial Advisory Panel.

ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNAL DECEMBER 1999

266