“I’m not going to sit at home and look out the window,” says Paul McKenna when asked if he has considered retirement after running his own business as a mechanic in Blackrock, Co Dublin, for more than 40 years.
His workshop and the premises on either side were bought recently, and planning permission has been granted for a small residential development, but McKenna, now 70, says nothing is certain.
“We haven’t been told anything yet so we’ll see what happens, I’ll go on as long as I can anyway.”
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“I’ll look for something else, something in the trade, spannering or fixing cars ... driving, or working in a warehouse. Something that would keep me going.”
McKenna is part of a growing number of Irish people choosing to work beyond the traditional retirement age. His reasons for doing so are mixed.
“I’ve always done it, but there’d be a financial aspect too. If I didn’t keep working, there would be things I wouldn’t be able to afford, and I like to travel. The last few years I’ve been seeing a bit more of the world. But there’s also a health and fitness part to it. I’d do it to stay healthy too because I’ve seen some people who retire and they just kind of go downhill.”
McKenna admits the thought of work “is not what gets me jumping out of the bed in the morning,” adding: “When I get a bang off something in here, it’s not enjoyable. When the snow is blowing in under the door it’s not fun”.
Nevertheless, he gets up at 5am each morning and sets off for Dublin from his home in Courtown, Co Wexford by 6am.
“My brother died in April,” he says. “He was 71, 72, and he just got a lung infection, pleurisy, and he was gone. I realised how delicate life is, that we’re not here for a long time but for a good time.”
It is, he says, one of the reasons why he wants to keep enjoying things as long as he can. Part of the strategy has involved joining his local golf club and working is also a big part.
He is far from alone. The most recent Central Statistics Office figures show the number of men over 65 in employment has more than trebled from 26,000 in 2001 to 89,000 in the second quarter of this year, although the numbers have slipped slightly back since the latter part of last year.
The corresponding figure for women is up sixfold, from 7,200 to 43,600, increasing by almost 50 per cent every five years.
There may be a further rise in future due to legislation which came into effect in June, allowing employees to request an extension of their retirement date to their 66th birthday – since the State pension is only paid from the age of 66.
If an employer wants to persist in forcing someone to retire at 65, as is the case in many sectors, it must be able to justify the move on objective grounds, in relation to the specific individual.
For those working beyond traditional retirement age, financial worries can weigh heavily. However, it is not a significant factor in McKenna’s case, who says he has a small private pension to complement his State one. Some older people still have a mortgage over their heads, or rent to pay, perhaps as a result of a family break-up, while others simply entered the workforce a bit later and so have had less time to build a pension.
A recent survey by Irish Life found three-quarters of respondents said they expected to work longer before retiring, with about one-quarter anticipating a phased retirement or ending up in part-time work.
Some of those will be doing it because they want to continue engaging with people daily. That is also part of it for McKenna. “I like the people; I like being able to help them out. I never like to see anyone stuck.”
