Still Got It!

A photo project to demonstrate the huge economic and social value of the older generation.
It is easy to believe from media coverage and governmental utterances that the older generation represents only a drain on the heath services and is sitting on fat pensions ripe for plunder - that they have lost whatever economic and social relevance they once had.
That is not the case and I set out to show, through photography, the economic and social value of people who are past, often far past, any level that is now defined as “retirement age”. People with vitality, who have “still got it” and represent the most active and dynamic older generation in history.
Many thousands are working on, often in new roles and on a freelance basis, often earning a fraction of what they might have expected years earlier. They are paying tax and providing cheap labour that benefits the economy. No minimum hourly rates for these workers!
Many thousands are also volunteering, not only for charities, but in areas that once were paid occupations. There are no statistics for the number of jobs that have been re-assigned to volunteers, but it is easy to see that it has expanded greatly, especially in areas like NHS and others.
A study by Benefact Group in 2022 put the economic value of volunteering alone at £18.7bn annually. Add to that value of the labour and it is clear that they are funding a huge pay-back in free and cheap work.
They are also funding a huge involvement in social activities, which creates employment in those areas and creates marketing opportunities for manufactures of equipment and owners of resources like halls and facilities.
So, what do older people who have “still got it” actually do? I did not have to dig far to find surprises.