Mike's Minute: More and more proof age is only a number

Author: Mike Hosking ,
Publish Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2026, 8:40am

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As Donald Trump celebrated his 80th this week, I read the stat that he is not alone in still having work to go to.

The retirement age in America is 67, but the percentage of those still in work past that age has quadrupled since the 80s.

So, a couple of things come out of that:

It’s often presented as a need as opposed to a want, and I think, increasingly, that isn’t the case.

It is presented as some sort of oddity. In other words, the reportage of the facts and changing stats reflects another time, not the current one.

And the current one is this: people work because we have discovered it’s good for you.

It’s like exercise, which we have also discovered in recent decades, and turned into an industry. People like to do what’s good for them, so they keep doing it.

The narrative is based on the idea that work is a chore and needs to be done to earn money to pay for living. In many cases, it is no such thing. It is about connection and challenge, about fun. In Trump’s case, it is about power.

It’s why Rod Stewart still performs – he doesn’t have to; he wants to.

Trump wants to rule the world. That doesn’t stop at 67.

Further, I think —and this is probably part of the changing landscape as well— young people aren’t what they once were, and as such, experience is increasingly valued. Older people are not the burden they were once seen as; in fact, they are increasingly not even seen as old.

Old, to me, is 80+. Generally, something cognitive happens post-80s. You can be 67, 71, or 78 and be sprightly, fit, cohesive, and effective – in the workplace or not.

But post-80s, for many, something metaphysical tends to unfold.

In the ensuing period, the idea that you stop work in your mid-60s to play bowls or golf for up to 30 years is absurd.

Further, this trend will increase because today’s 80-year-olds come from a generation of little exercise, little attention to diet, and not a lot of medical advancement.

Someone who is 20 today will crack 100 with increasing regularity, and, as night follows day, more will want the enjoyment and challenge of work.

And I’ll tell you this for nothing: it will be a good day when it’s reported as perfectly normal, as opposed to some emerging trend.