We recently sat down at a birthday party. Half of the guests had already been retired for a few years. The group was cheerful; we toasted and wished the birthday boy or girl good luck and, above all, good health.

But I smiled again. The guests knew each other, they had always met at the birthday boy's house. The questions "How are you?" or "Bisch zwäg?" were logical. Then it started: they talked about knee, back and shoulder pain, cataract operations and physiotherapy. Good advice flew back and forth, eager nods to everything - you were "there", you knew the situations and knew about that doctor, that hospital and the great osteopath.

At some point, one of the "boys" clicked in, providing a pleasant interruption to the health talk and diverting our thoughts to other interesting topics.

I know that Gerhard Uhlenbruck, the German immunobiologist and aphorist, once said "Even iron health will one day belong to the old iron". Health is almost the most important thing about getting older. And yet I think that active senior citizens who engage with their surroundings, who take part in seniors@work, for example, have no time for self-pity or aches and pains, or are better able to tolerate certain limitations thanks to their activity.

How do you feel about this? Can you understand my train of thought?

Beatrice

Around 660 people work for the Red Cross Basel as volunteers. They provide over 17,000 hours of service each year. Almost 100 of our volunteers have already reached the age of 60. They are involved in a wide variety of projects: as godparents in "Eins zu Eins", as visitors in the visiting and escort service, as drivers in the transport service or as sales clerks in the Red Cross store in Gundeli. Without our senior citizens, we would not be able to offer our services.

We particularly value their life experience, their wide range of skills and their extensive network of contacts. They approach their work calmly but with commitment. Precisely because the Red Cross Basel has a wide range of services for older people, I am delighted that senior women are also involved with us - it's a case of "give and take!

A platform like seniors@work is worth its weight in gold for us because it makes it easy for us to find helpers who want to get involved with us. Thank you very much!

 

Did you know, dear reader, that the word "senior" was already used in the 14th century to refer to an elder or old master? It's kind of funny that a competitive athlete who has outgrown his youth is also referred to as a senior.

But let's stay with the "real" senior citizens. And let's compare the 65-year-olds:

• In 1950, there were 38,489 people celebrating their 65th birthday.
• In 2017, the number of 65-year-olds rose to 90,396.
• And for the year 2025, the Federal Statistical Office - which is where I got these figures from - predicts that the group of 65-year-olds will grow to 112,356 people.

Life expectancy in 2015 is estimated at 88.8 years for men and 91.8 years for women.

So we senior citizens are a force to be reckoned with, we are in good company! And let's be happy: we are increasingly being referred to as "best agers"!

Kind regards

Beatrice

Mr. Hummel, you will retire in August 2019 after 49 years of training and working as an architect. Are you looking forward to it?

It's good now. I took early retirement at 60, but then realized that I really missed the contact with people. That's why I started again with a reduced workload.

Have you now prepared for your retirement?

No, I haven't made any special preparations. I now know what to expect because I've been able to deal with it over the last five years. I enjoy an intense but solitary hobby. Now my wife and I have also started joining a walking group. I think it's healthy, fun and can be expanded.

Would it be an option for you to take part in seniors@work? What would be important key data for you?

I don't think it would be entirely fair to compete with my former colleagues. Let's stay in the field of architecture: younger employees or architectural firms are sometimes dependent on orders. I wouldn't want to "take" these orders away from them.

However, I could imagine taking part if I could offer some form of support on a voluntary basis. For example, buying or selling a house: not acting as an estate agent myself, but giving the seller support in the sense of a second opinion.

What would you like to say to the organizers of seniors@work?

I worry about the question of liability. Whatever I offer as a senior citizen, be it building a barn, helping with the cherry harvest or herding dogs... What if I make a mistake or something happens? Who is liable? I would like to have this clarified for myself. As a service provider, I need to be able to protect myself.

Thank you very much, Mr. Hummel, for these interesting thoughts and - not to forget - happy birthday and toitoitoitoi for your retirement!