News

Pensions at 75, Says Peak Seniors Group

IT'S been nearly 20 years since Lismore butcher Neil Hutley last thought seriously about retirement. Now, aged 83, Mr Hutley has had to have two knee reconstructions to continue working the famed Hutley Bros butchery at South Lismore and has no intention of stepping down. "If I had left earlier the young ones wouldn't have had my guidance," he said.
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$25m retirement units proposed

AN AMERICAN aged care provider is proposing to build a $25 million Gracious Retirement Living complex, boasting 121-units, in Stuart Street, Toowoomba. The city is expected to be home to one of 10 proposed by Harvest Retirement Corporation, in partnership with Brisbane-based property developer Petra, across Australia and New Zealand. The application for the three-storey building, overlooking Heritage Oval, was lodged this week.
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Setback In Battle Against Compulsory Retirement Age

Hundreds of workers who want to work beyond the age of 65 were dealt a blow yesterday after campaigners lost an important round in their legal battle to banish Britain's compulsory retirement age. A preliminary legal opinion at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg rejected a claim by Age Concern that to compel people to stop work at or after 65 without compensation breaches EU equality requirements.
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Bribie Island Magazine

Bribie Island Ambassador, Max, has updated us with the 'Bribie Magazine', an initiative of the Bribie Island Chamber of Commerce.
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Change Of Attitude

Australians have radically changed their attitude to retirement, abandoning the hope of leaving the workforce at age 55 and opting now for an average of 65.1 years.
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US Senior Centers Planning For A Boom Of 'Boomers'

Susan Lather envisions a day when paninis and mock cocktails will take their place next to fruit cups and club sandwiches on the Enfield Senior Center lunch menu. Changing food preferences are just one of many adjustments that senior center directors nationwide, including Lather, expect to make in the next decade as they balance the wishes of their elderly stalwarts with those of baby boomer newcomers.
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3.3 Million People Looking To Retire, 11.6 million Covered By Superannuation: ABS

Of the 3.9 million people aged 45 or over who were employed when surveyed in 2007, 3.3 million said they intended to retire at some stage, and mostly over the next 20 years, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Financial security was the main factor that people intending to retire most commonly expected would influence their final decision about when to retire (40%). In contrast, of the 1.9 million people aged 45 or over who were already retired but had worked at some point in the 20 years prior to interview, the most commonly cited main reason for retiring had been personal health or physical abilities (32%).
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Caravan Park Scramble In Record Tourist Season

THEY'RE usually in bed by 8pm, but an increasing number of grey nomads are being forced to burn the midnight oil as they discover "no vacancy" signs outside scores of popular caravan parks in Queensland. Long-haul trips they hoped would end in a nice hot cuppa and a soft, welcoming pillow are turning into a scramble for a site or an unexpected drive to the next small town, perhaps hundreds of kilometres away.
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Top tips: How To Make The Most Of A Mid-Career Crisis

Behavioural specialist Dr John Demartini gives tips on how to make the most of a mid-career crisis.
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Money Not Motive For Many Working Past Age 67

For medical office manager Sue Stein, working past the typical retirement age was a choice she made because she’s still having fun at her job and likes the lively banter with the young medical students around her.
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John Bowe On Road To Recovery

Behind the wheel of a thundering V8, cocooned in a steel rollcage, sheathed by fireproof clothing and helmet, John Bowe felt at home. Racing cars was his job, his love, his life for 22 years -- and he was good at it. No driver has contested more V8 Supercar races than the likeable 55-year-old driver from Devonport. But stepping out of the sport at the end of last year left Bowe disoriented and detached.
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Nude Protest Sparks Comment Worldwide

RESIDENTS who peeled their gear off to star in a naked protest video have aroused the attention of media across the world - and they're set to do it again. Since the Tweed Daily News broke the story of on its front page on Tuesday, the plight of Hastings Point residents opposed to "inappropriate development" in their coastal village has been picked up by national newspapers, television shows and internet chatrooms.
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Tree Change Allows Family To Feel At Home

Toowoomba, we think, is a great place to live..... For Michelle and Lee Fielding, a recent tree change meant returning to where it all began.
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The Little Black Book Of Scams

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has produced an excellent free booklet called "The Little Black Book of Scams.
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Retirement Research

Many people do not do the ‘right’ research in looking for a great retirement location. Having a great holiday/s in a location is not an ideal reason for moving to an area. Nor is thinking that ‘everything will be o.k.’ if we move to an area….nor is being seduced by warmer temperatures or glossy real estate advertisements!
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Grundtvig…A Passport To Opportunities Across Europe For Senior Volunteers

Grundtvig…a passport to opportunities across Europe for Senior Volunteers Would you like to provide your senior volunteers with an exciting new opportunity in locations around Europe? Then why not try a Senior Volunteering Project…
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Ahoy! Would You Retire Here?

A St. Paul, Minn., man was in Dubuque on Tuesday pitching his idea for the Marquette, which would be the "biggest rivercraft in the world." It would house 350 residents. A St. Paul, Minn., man was in Dubuque on Tuesday pitching his idea for the Marquette, which would be the "biggest rivercraft in the world." It would house 350 residents.
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Retire?, Kenny Just Can't Retire

Country music crooner Kenny Rogers is a safe bet for a music hit, but the gambler himself, whose Australian tour has kicked off in Brisbane, didn't bet on a botched plastic surgery job. The slightly-built 70-year-old American music legend, who describes himself as a bionic man with no original working parts, still has his trademark white locks and beard.
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Seniors Welcome Surprise Inspections

Australia's seniors have backed a step-up in the number of surprise inspections of nursing homes. Their support follows the removal of 55 residents from a Victorian nursing home after an unannounced inspection by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency found it to be filthy and posing a serious risk to their health, safety and wellbeing. The federal government says it is making no excuses for backing the policy of more unannounced inspections. National Seniors, which has a membership of 280,000 Australians aged 50 and over, says the surprise checks on aged-care facilities seem to be working well.
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Voice For Worried Village Residents

The NSW opposition spokeswoman for Fair Trading, Catherine Cusack, spoke to about 50 retirement village residents yesterday about changes to the Retirement Villages Act. Almost 1200 of the state’s 40,000 retirement village residents live in Port Macquarie.
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Hot, Hot, Hot Peppers

As if aging Baby Boomers aren't losing enough, add a loss of taste to the list. We're losing our hair, we need glasses for reading and distance, our hearing is going, and let's not even get into the 401(k) losses. Our sense of taste is going too, and as a result, our hankering for hotter and hotter, spicier and spicier foods is growing. Here's an interesting statistic, gleaned from a recent AARP Magazine article with the headline "Some Like It Hotter": In 1998, each person in the United States consumed 4.7 pounds of chili peppers (that excludes bell peppers, by the way). In 2007, our per person consumption of chili peppers jumped to 6.3 pounds per person. The AARP article and others say the trend is due to Baby Boomers and the natural aging process that affects both taste and smell. "As we age, the taste buds begin to disappear from the sides and roof of the mouth, leaving taste buds mostly on our tongue. The remaining taste buds eventually become less sensitive," says Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, who analyzes food shopping and marketing trends. In addition, with age some scents become more difficult to distinguish and that has an affect on the ability to perceive certain flavors. The end result of all of this is the need for spicy foods because we perceive that the food we're eating is too bland. What's interesting, according to Lempert, is that the effect we get from the jalapenos or Wasabi mustard or hot sauce or horseradish isn't taste, it's a nerve stimulus. When we eat a hot pepper, for instance, it's the active components capsaicin that's kicking in. "... the 'kick' or sensation is a function of how much pain it inflicts on nerve fibers in your mouth ... these pain fibers are actually wrapped around the taste buds. We consider them 'hot' because they stimulate only a subset of the pain fibers in your mouth, not all of them," he says. It's said that salsa outsells ketchup, a point to bolster the hotter argument, though one source makes a good case that salsa outsells ketchup and ketchup outsells salsa, depending how you interpret the numbers.
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Lennox To Boom

ONE of the biggest land releases in recent times at Lennox Head is now before the State Government for approval. The Pacific Pines residential subdivision is expected, on approval, to bring an extra 1750 residents to the village, living in 480 homes in a mix of residential lots, duplexes and small affordable housing. The development also is to provide 310 retirement units with a maximum height of three storeys.
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No Plans To Retire: 'Cups King' Cummings Looks For Baker's Dozen

'Cups King' Cummings looks for baker's dozen Bart Cummings celebrates winning the Melbourne Cup Veteran trainer Bart Cummings says he has no plans to retire, after winning his 12th Melbourne Cup at Flemington yesterday. Cummings had not won the big race for nine years and many thought his run of winners had come to an end. But as Viewed held on to win by a nose from Bauer at Flemington, Cummings once again lived up to his nickname of Cups King, and he says he has no plans to stop after notching a dozen winners in the big race. "I suppose as long as I can get around then there's no reason to say au revoir until the time comes and it'll be a while yet," he said. The 80-year-old has also warned rivals that Viewed's best years may be ahead of him, and that he will be pushing for consecutive wins next year. Cummings also said jockey Blake Shinn fully deserved his win. Cummings says he has great respect for Shinn who has earned his place as a Melbourne Cup winning jockey. "I've always picked him early days as a dedicated rider, he's got good balance, he's very serious he gets suspended a few times because he always wants to be in the right place," he said. The legendary trainer says he never doubted he would add to his Melbourne Cup tally. Cummings had won 11 Melbourne Cups before yesterday's race, but all the attention had been focussed on international raiders, Septimus and favourite Mad Rush. While it was another of English-based trainer, Luca Cumani's horses, Bauer, that pushed Viewed all the way, Cummings says the result represents a win for the local industry. "I just couldn't believe that we could win this race with all the hype of the imported horses you see, so I was very glad to see an Aussie win," he said. The 80-year-old says while he feels sorry for Cumani who has now trained the second placed horse in consecutive years, he is just happy for himself and long-time business partner and owner, Dato Tan Chin Nam.
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Retirees!!....Bad news for volunteers who do too much

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Facelift For Victor Harbor Caravan Park After Lessee Chosen

The City of Victor Harbor has confirmed the new lessee of the Victor Harbor Beachfront Caravan Park will be the Australian Tourist Park Management group. The Coolangatta-based group already runs 23 caravan and tourist parks in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
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Baby Boomer Parents Raising A Smug Generation

The young people of today are more sure of themselves and the fact they will make excellent parents, partners and employees than their parents ever were. But researchers, who studied the self-assessments of the Millenials, or Generation Y, warn that instilling children with such confidence could be simply setting them up for a fall. They warn that many young people could sink into depression when they are confronted with life's harsher realities.
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Retirees / Grey Nomads: Please Take Care:

A man believed to be a "grey nomad" had scatched the word HELP in the dirt before dying in searing temperatures in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, police say.
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Local Government A Leader In 'Positive Ageing'

ALGA issued the results of the 2007 ageing survey it conducted as part of the Australian Local Government Population Ageing Action Plan 2004-2008 initiative (the Plan), which was supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The survey report provides an analysis of the 2007 survey results but also compares them to the results from the two previous surveys conducted under the Plan in 2006 and 2005.
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82-year-old Jerry Lewis On Retirement: 'Why?'

These days, the King of Comedy is graying at the temples and sometimes a little wobbly on his feet. But don't ask him about retirement. "A break? No, why? You got something better to do?" Jerry Lewis told a reporter Friday who asked if the 82-year-old entertainer was contemplating leaving the stage after more than 50 years of performing. "Show me somewhere better than this and I'll consider it."
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Growing Old Disgracefully Photography Competition Launched

A photography competition, Growing Old Disgracefully, has been launched today - Wednesday 1st October 2008 to coincide with UN Day of Older Persons - by NIACE and Mature Times. The competition is open to anyone in the UK aged 55 and over and encourages older people to illustrate the wide variety of ways and places older people learn.
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Grey Nomads Facing Restrictions

The legions of grey nomads who constantly roam inland Australia and also create a creeping snake of shifting population around the coast are facing restrictions this summer. The South Australian Environment Department reckons the Simpson Desert is too hot for tourists and plans to close it annually from December1 to March 15. The department's regional operations director Trevor Naismith says the Simpson Desert park and reserve, an area of 3.6 million hectares, will be closed to prevent tourists dying and emergency staff putting themselves at risk rescuing stranded motorists. "There's been a number of near misses and we have had deaths in past years in the northern parts of SA in relation to overseas tourists who are not experienced and are ill-prepared for the conditions," Naismith says. "The Simpson Desert is one of the most fascinating, majestic places in Australia, but in the middle of summer it's also one of the harshest and the least hospitable areas, and potentially one of the most unforgiving, dangerous places."
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10 Point Checklist - Healthy And Sustainable Communities

This paper describes a 10-point checklist for the planning and development of healthy and sustainable communities. The 10 domains in the checklist are essentially physical characteristics of places.
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WWII Pilot Defends Evans Head

Ballina retiree Ted Sly has rediscovered the joy of flight, 67 years after he last stepped out of a cockpit. His trusty steed all those years ago was nothing less than a World War II Spitfire with the RAAF. At the time the veteran of four campaigns never wanted to see inside an airplane again. But the passing of years has softened those strong feelings. Now, at the age of 90, he is on the cusp of regaining his pilot's licence - only the complicated theory test stands in his way.
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Boomers Deaf To The 'R' word

The baby boomers - that generation of change that brought the world the hippie movement, the Beatles, the sexual revolution and much more - is changing things again and it's going to affect the entire workforce. Their parents, called the Silent Generation (people born between 1923 to 1945), looked forward to retirement at age 65. As they approach a similar age, New Zealand's baby boomers still see work and career as a critical part of their lives, shows recent research by the Providence Report.
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No Plans To Save Flooded Retirees

The lives of Coasts most vulnerable elderly living in retirement villages will be at risk when a cyclone hits the region with some complexes refusing to adopt disaster management plans.
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Forget Easy Street, Gen Y Workers Warned

THE era of highly paid positions in cruisy offices is over, with a new period of rising unemployment and lower spending. University of Western Sydney professor of economics and finance Steven Keen said Gen Y workers should prepare for a shock on the back of the worldwide credit crisis.
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Knead To Bake Entices Retirees To Rise To The Challenge Again

The smell of freshly baked bread was enough to lure Trish and David McLaren from retirement. For five years the couple have been grey nomads, touring the country after years of hard, daily trading. They operated the Cobden bakery for 13 years until they gave it away in 2003 for a seachange in Ocean Grove, believing they would never return.
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ACT and NT Regions Have The Highest Turnover Of Residents: ABS

A new analysis of Census data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows which regions of Australia had the highest and lowest turnover in their population in the five years to 2006.
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