Public policies for mid life transitions
Veronica Sheen
Council on the Ageing/National Seniors
Contact Email:   vsheencota.org.au

The period of mid-life, around the ages of 50-64, is much more open to change, new opportunity and social risk than it was 30 or 40 years ago. This means that the work to later life (rather than retirement) transition is an increasingly fraught and ambiguous experience for many people. This paper draws from 3 diverse but related activities either recently completed or in progress:

* an interactive seminar program for older workers which delivers an education campaign about the changing nature of the labour market

* an Australian Churchill Fellowship to study ageing workforce issues and older workers programs in the USA and Europe (completed in 2002)

* a research study Negotiating Transitions to Retirement with Deakin University funded by the Australian Research Council (theoretical underpinnings established but no findings as yet available).

The findings or premises of each of these activities suggests the need for new forms of public policy interventions:

* labour market policies which are geared to an ageing workforce
* specialised programs for older workers
* more sophisticated forms of social assistance for people in mid-life
* changes to social security arrangements to accommodate greater flexibility in the work to later life transition.

Paper Download Information (if available):

Paper126.pdf

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