Septuagenarians’ world:

Did I retire too soon?

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

We, septuagenarians, justifiably feel we are on top of the world. After all, we rule the world! Our President and the Prime Minister are septuagenarians and one of our ilk has just been elected the most powerful person in the world, not for the first but for the second time within four years. Therefore, it is no fluke and, in fact, the second septuagenarian elected is even older than the first and would be an octogenarian even before halfway through his term! The record of Donald Trump to be the oldest to assume the US presidency would be broken by Joe Biden in January, unless something unexpected happens. We who have been thrown to the dustbin of history as retirees have been resurrected thanks to the enlightened American voters who realise the value of dotage. But a lingering doubt has crept in my mind: Did I retire too soon?

To say that the American voters are enlightened may not be strictly true as they did not have a choice, both leading candidates being septuagenarians, but there is hardly any doubt that the American system of elections is far from advanced. The excellent editorial “US election: What next?” (The Island, November 9) details what has gone wrong with American presidential elections over the ages and it is surprising no corrective action had been taken so far. Just concluded election seems to be the worst COVID-19 pandemic cannot be the excuse. After all, we conducted one of the most orderly and peaceful elections during the pandemic. Perhaps, USA should consider inviting the expertise of our retiring Chairman of the Election Commission; the charismatic and efficient Mahinda Deshapriya.

Yankees consider it their bounden duty to export democracy to other countries but what actually happens in the name of democracy is something totally different: regime change to have governments they can control irrespective of the consequences to the host country, Yahapalanaya being a very good example. USA should put its house in order before preaching to others and should be able to hold elections beyond question. The dictum laid down by Lord Hewart, the Lord Chief Justice of England in 1924: “Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done,” should apply to elections as well; they should be seen as fair too.

It almost beggars belief that postal votes can be received even after the election closes and the counts can go on for days in USA; the so-called ‘most advanced democracy’. Postal ballots are sent in advance and should be returned before balloting closes so that the process of counting can begin. There is no need to give figures as counting goes on and with all the advanced technology at their disposal, one would have expected USA to be able to declare the results of the presidential election in 48 hours, at most. What happened was shambolic, for whatever reason. In most of the marginal states Trump was leading, as the counts progressed painfully slowly, his majority declined gradually and Biden ultimately won with a slim majority! Had it not been for the brash intervention of Trump many would have suspected something fishy was going on but he turned the tide against himself! It is a shame that Trump was not able to master the art of diplomacy even after being elected president!

It seems rather paradoxical that politicians mature with age and do not have a compulsory age for retirement unlike we Joe Bloggs! It is not confined to USA or Sri Lanka. Robert Mugabe was president of Zimbabwe till he was deposed at the age of 93 and Mahathir Mohamed returned to be prime minister of Malaysia just two months under the age of 93.

Should there be an age for

compulsory retirement?

The age for compulsory retirement varies very widely from country to country and in Sri Lanka it is 60 years for government servants and maybe as low as 55 years for some mercantile sector employees. In most developing countries compulsory retirement is used as a means to create vacancies for jobs for the young. Sirima Bandaranaika government suddenly lowered the compulsory retirement age to 55 and I remember it well because it caused severe mental distress to my mother, who got a stroke within a year or two of the unplanned, sudden retirement. On the other hand, my father opted for ‘early retirement’ at the age of 55 years to contest Matara seat from the UNP.

In contrast to compulsory retirement, there is optional retirement at an age when you can get maximum retirement benefits which, again, varies very widely in different countries. Some countries have abolished compulsory retirement altogether leaving it for negotiation between employer and employee. Perhaps, this makes sense as often the biological age does not tally with the chronological age. Whilst Joe Biden looks his age, Donald Trump does not. Brothers, Mahinda and Gota also do not resemble their age. Maybe, one good reason for not having a retirement age for politicians is Rajapaksa brothers!

Considering all this: Did I retire too soon? In fact, I would have retired ten years earlier, had I not moved to the UK halfway in my professional career. As I was approaching my 65th year and considering retirement, rules changed in the UK enabling me to continue for another five years. This was a big bonus as I was able to add another five years to my service which enhanced my pension. Though I could have continued longer, I informed my employer that I would retire when I reached the milestone of 70. This I did, as I wanted to retire when I was at the top of my game, not being forced to retire due to failures.

Looking back, I certainly could have worked much longer as my faculties have not failed me, but do I regret? Not at all. Politicians may carry on working to the grave but I am enjoying my retirement. Though travelling had been curtailed by COVID-19 there is a glimmer of hope with the good news about vaccines. However, I can still continue reading, do heavy work in the garden instead of exercising in a gym, watch diverse programmes on TV, sharpen my culinary skills and, of course, continue writing!