The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain

• “The most important difference between older brains and younger brains is also the easiest to overlook: Older brains have learned more than younger brains. Many aspects of life are simply too complicated and subtle to learn quickly, which is why experience counts in so many spheres of life.”

• “The United States has one of the highest labor force participation rates for persons aged 65 or older in the developed world, surpassed in 1999-2000 only by Japan, Iceland, and Portugal. In other words, the dividing line between ‘career’ and ‘retirement’ is not only moving into higher ages, it is also becoming more blurry, with more people opting for phased retirement options that allow them to work part-time …”

• “Strikingly, more than half of those I interviewed – women and men alike, up to age 75 – said they would like to work at least part-time if the right job were available.”

- The brain doesn’t grow new cells.
- “Older adults cannot learn” like young people can.
- “Connections between neurons are relatively fixed” during a person’s lifetime.
- Intelligence is a result of “how many neurons” a person has and “how fast those neurons work.”

Cohen asserts that “these ‘facts’ are wrong.” In contrast, he posits: “The brain is more resilient, adaptable, and capable than we long thought …” He notes that:

The human brain “is continually resculpting itself in response to experience and learning.”

- New brain cells “form throughout life.”
- A person’s “emotional circuitry matures and becomes more balanced with age.”
- The two hemispheres of the brain “are more equally used by older adults.”

Now that we know that people can change, it’s fair to ask whether employers can change too—and view remote, part-time, virtual and other non-traditional work arrangements as productive.

Those are key takeaways from The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain by Gene D. Cohen.

This groundbreaking book provides much guidance for marketers, employers and family members dealing with those over age 50.

Cohen’s book points out that “with age can come a new feeling of inner freedom, self-confidence, and liberation from social constraints that allows for novel or bold behavior.”

The book opens with a bold quote:

“Your brain never stops developing and changing. It’s been doing it from the time you were an embryo, and will keep on doing it all your life. And this ability, perhaps, represents its greatest strength.” – James Trefil, physicist and author

In future posts, WAHVE’s blog will explore lessons and learnings from Cohen’s book. To put it mildly, Cohen will convince many that you can teach a mature dog a new trick or two.

• See significant problems on the horizon for those about to retire

• Feel employees are not well equipped to successfully provide for retirement

• Feel employees are incapable of navigating the complexities of planning for retirement

• Say their organizations are not doing enough to help

• Believe that organizations share — almost equally with the individual — the responsibility to support individuals in retirement.

Share your opinion.  Join the conversation. Tell us how WAHVE has helped support you!

The actress, well known for her role in ABC TV series The Flying Nun from 1967-70, made an earnest speech at the Academy Awards audience while winning an Oscar for her starring role in the 1984 drama Places in the Heart. Famously, Field gushed: “… I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it, and I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”

After Field’s acceptance speech, her line “You like me, you really like me!” was often parodied for being mawkish. Her line, however, actually was a subtle reference some wry dialogue spoken by Field in her prior film Norma Rae—for which she also won an Oscar for her depiction of a union organizer.

Field came to mind when we at WAHVE were reading the Forbes magazine article headlined: “Employers Really Do Like Older Employees…Really.” Blogger Kerry Hannon wrote: “Employers really do like older employees.”

Hannon cited an employer survey from financial services behemoth Merrill Lynch, stating the firm found that “an overwhelming 94 percent of employers feel it is important to retain older employees for a longer period of time before they retire because of the talent and skills they possess.”

WAHVE finds insurance firms like older workers not because they’re in retirement or because they are of a certain age—but because they are productive and cost-effective.

The article notes: “… a report by the Congressional Research Service says [NORCs are] ‘communities with a large proportion of older persons [typically 55 to 65 and up] residing within a specified geographic area,’ which could mean anything from a zip code to an apartment building.”

The benefits of NORCs (and the similar concept of villages), the article notes, include the ability to access resources on a group basis, buying power, and, well, strength in numbers.

As you look around where you live and work, you’ll find NORC-like communities if you look closely. Maybe you even insure homeowners and tenants who live in such communities. Where I live and work in New York City, Long Island and Connecticut, the NORCs are centered around apartment buildings, churches, synagogues, fraternal organizations, community centers, and other community organizations.

Social networking has given rise to another type of “naturally occurring” community: A group of people who work together and like each other so much that they stay in touch over the years. I’ve seen these communities sprout and grow over the years at such insurance industry events as ACT (Agents Council for Technology), Big I national and state events, NetVU conference, ASCnet TENcon, insurance company conventions, ACORD conferences, and the like.

The ability to connect through insurance industry events over the years has been enhanced and extended by the creation of e-mail in the 1990s, by social networking tools in 2007-8, and by the widespread use of Webinars over the past several years.

Not only is it good to live in community, it’s good to work in community.

Noted a news release about the study: “For many Americans, the foundation of their retirement strategy is simply to not retire or to work considerably longer than the traditional retirement age of 65.”

Other findings, as reported by National Underwriter Life & Health, include:

Only 51 percent of surveyed workers called themselves “somewhat confident” or “very confident” about achieving a comfortable retirement this year. That contrasts with from 53 percent in 2008-2009 and 59 percent in 2007.

Fewer than 4 of 10 workers (38 percent) reported building a large enough retirement nest egg, as compared with 40 percent in 2008-2009 and 45 percent in 2007.

The Transamerica Center conducted the online survey of 4,080 U.S. workers ages 18 and older working at for-profit employers with 10 or more employees.

The survey showed that 39 percent of American workers intend to retire after age 70 or not at all. More than half (54 percent) plan to work in retirement. “Of those who plan on working after retirement or age 65, the most commonly cited reasons are out of necessity (44 percent),” noted the news release.

And it’s the next big horizon for financial services companies.

Noted The Wall Street Journal in a recent news article:

“Some of the industry’s biggest players are introducing free or low-cost services that will help you convert your savings into a reliable stream of lifelong income. The products are aimed primarily at the millions of baby boomers who, though hesitant to hire a financial adviser, are unsure of how to spend their nest eggs without running a significant risk of going broke.”

There’s another way way to add to that retirement income: work.

That’s a trend that is growing more and more popular by the month in the insurance industry. WAHVE’s team has spoken with numerous insurance workers who retired, only to realize after six months that they missed the people and the work. And they realized they didn’t want to work in the local hardware store. They want to put their skills and experience to work in their chosen field of insurance.

Are you interested in working for an insurance firm on a remote, outsourced basis? We invite you to submit your information to WAHVE for consideration.

Do you want to consider hiring a vintage worker for your agency, insurance carrier/reinsurer, or other insurance firm? Contact us for a free analysis of how much you can save by outsourcing to WAHVE.

And how do firms feel about using Wahves? By freeing up office staff to focus on the single most important element, the client, companies are able to retain clients and build revenue. Managers have reported that their Wahves work hard; are conscientious; and become part of the team quickly. One agency owner said that WAHVE is a good fit for both sides. Agencies just can’t find enough talent to do the knowledge based work and retirees have a difficult time finding flexible work options. Thank goodness there’s WAHVE…

But, weighing in on the trend, actuaries say that workers may be looking at postponing retirement through rose-colored glasses.

National Underwriter Life & Health reported that the Society of Actuaries conducted a study that found that pre-retirees “may have unrealistic ideas about how well postponing retirement can help compensate for lack of retirement savings.”

What’s more, the article noted: “…working longer may not be feasible for many people approaching retirement due to the effects of job losses and the difficulty of finding work in the current tough job market….”

Those points may be valid. But one key reason that retirement-age workers can’t find work is that employers aren’t yet ready to deal with them.

Many employers, including in the insurance industry, are accustomed to a traditional office setup with full-time, on-site workers. But many insurance firms, needing skilled talent but also needing to keep costs down, are realizing they don’t have to house everyone who works for them.

By outsourcing, insurance employers can save on real estate, technology, benefits and other costs. These forward-looking insurance firms are using technology—old (the telephone and e-mail) and new (secure private data networks)—to connect with remote workers.

What today’s workers deliver to employers is knowledge. That knowledge is portable. It doesn’t have to report to a certain building in order to perform.