Mrs. Sherratt, 57, studied the needs of caregivers of the elderly in Bermuda for her MA degree in Social Anthropology from Dalhousie University. The Bermuda Council on Ageing was founded a year ago in response to the Fordham University report ‘Ageing in Bermuda: Meeting the Needs of Seniors’ (2004)’.

“We interviewed five percent of the over-65 population and what came out was the need for an individual body to look at ageing in all its complexity, so in 2006 we began the Bermuda Council on Ageing,” says Mrs. Sherratt.

An independent body, its aim is to foster dialogue and action between Government, the private sector, the non-profit sector, and general community. The BDACA’s role is to develop policy with regard to the Island’s ageing population and its impact on our social and economic well-being.

It is funded by the international foundation Atlantic Philanthropies. “An ageing population affects every man, woman and child on this Island. It affects us all,” says Marian Sherratt. “It has ramifications for all of us, such as caring for older relatives, the way we live and work. It affects healthcare, transport, housing, employment.

“We’re living longer but also with more medical conditions that require support, care and treatment. We have to find ways of providing health services for an ageing population and a lot of the costs related with that. But who is going to pay?

“It wouldn’t be a problem if the other end of the population was also growing. But there’s a falling birth rate.

“As the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are getting ready to start retiring, there’s a bulge in the population span. It’s like an inverted triangle, as there are less people who will be coming in to fill the jobs.

“This is also creating a talent shortage,” says Mrs. Sherratt.

The ACE Group this year identified ‘human capital risk’ — the growing talent shortage — as the most significant threat to the viability and profitability of global companies.

Mrs. Sherratt says: “This is just one aspect of an ageing population we have to look at, and companies are just beginning to realise this.”

The answer, she says, is to embrace the skills and experience of seniors and to introduce flexible working practices. The first step, however, is for Government to make legal moves in the area of age discrimination.

“The main strategy of the Bermuda Council on Ageing is to build awareness around these issues, to get people talking and planning and ready for this huge demographic shift.

“With the improvements in healthcare it is estimated that 50 percent of all baby boomers will live to see their 100th birthday. If they retire at 65, it means they would have to fund a 30-year retirement. And unless you are extremely wealthy, how are governments and pension funds going to fund this?

“A worst case scenario would be forcing someone to retire at 65 when they have to fund a 30-year retirement. This is age discrimination and it is not protected in the Human Rights Act.

“There’s no protection against age discrimination in our Human Rights Act. However, the Government are reviewing the Human Rights Act and I’m optimistic age will be one of the key considerations.”

Mrs. Sherratt says: “This is all about restructuring people’s working lives. ‘Active ageing’ is a whole new world for setting up businesses and new ways of doing business.

“A best case scenario would be that age is nothing more than a number, that we view older people with respect and allow them to retain their dignity.

“If someone has the talent and ability to work then let them work, and when they are in work, and trying to support a family, let’s support that need.

“I want employers to think ‘there’s a global talent shortage and we understand the population is ageing, but we need to fill these jobs, so we will be flexible in filling these jobs and we will meet you where you are’.”

Mrs. Sherratt says that a global survey by the Oxford Institute of Ageing, sponsored by the HSBC group, found that older workers wanted to continue in employment, but on their own terms.

“This is the kind of awareness we want to get out there. There’s a lot of work around the world on these issues and my job is to keep in touch with this research and bring that information back and put it into a Bermuda perspective — what will work here?

“There are huge changes within our ageing population, but there are also real opportunities for ‘active ageing’, and the more active we are, the healthier we are, so it is really important to keep that door open.”

Mrs. Sherratt, however, says that a better public education system is also needed, as the other side of the coin is the importance of a well-educated and skilled younger workforce.

“I am concerned that now, as baby boomers are about to retire, our education system is failing our children. I think it’s a very serious issue that our public education system is under-performing. It will only exacerbate everything — just when you need young people the most, they are not getting the education they deserve.”

The housing shortage also needs to be tackled urgently, as the boom in senior citizens over the next 25 years will also mean more and more living among relatives, who will predominantly be their care givers.

“Imagine having to rent a place in Bermuda with an extra bedroom for a parent to come and live with you,” says Mrs. Sherratt. “Apart from the scenario of multi-generations living at home in a country with a housing shortage, there is the extra expense. Bermuda is an expensive place to live.

“How will families live and be structured when we have four or five generations living in the same home? Who is going to support the older generations?

“As people get older, the percentage needing a level of care will increasingly rely on the unpaid family care giver.”

And here lies another issue, says Mrs. Sherratt, one which is usually kept hidden.

“Care giving — there’s a huge emotional impact of role reversal,” says Mrs. Sherratt.

“Twenty-five percent of care givers surveyed in the Fordham report in Bermuda were caring for parents with Alzheimer’s or dementia. There’s nothing to prepare for the role reversal that brings — of having to change your mother’s diaper.

“People do it out of love and duty but it can be overwhelming, so we need social and emotional support here, as well as financial support.

“Care givers often end up doing a daily double shift, looking after their relatives and then going out to work. The care provider who is paid is protected under the Employment Act 2000, but the care giver has no protection, they don’t get any days off or any pay. However in the UK, the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 provides a quality of life for the care giver, so I would like to see more consideration here.

“The work is overwhelmingly done by women who give up work to fulfil their care giving responsibilities. However, my mantra is don’t do it, as you’re giving up income security, pensions and healthcare benefits. When you give these up you risk becoming the next generation of aged poor.”

Mrs. Sherratt adds: “Employers are carrying the hidden costs of care giving. A 2006 report by Met Life in the US said the cost of care giving to American employers was $33 billion per year, through lost productivity and so on.

“We say it is better to support the care giver in the workplace, through policies such as flexitime or allowing them to switch to part-time work to enable them to get through this period of their lives.

“I would like to see more awareness given to the role of the care giver. It’s very silent and people don’t identify with the role, saying ‘it’s just family, this is what I do’. But without them our healthcare system would collapse, no government would be able to pay for the work they do.”

Mrs. Sherratt is optimistic the tide will turn towards a greater understanding of an ageing population, and she says Bermuda’s unique geography could help.

“Although Bermuda is a very expensive place to live and there are almost no financial or social supports right now, we are very close geographically. We are more close-knit in the way our families are situated more closely to each other, so it will be easier to communicate and care for each other.”

For more information on the Bermuda Council on Ageing, log onto: www.bdaca.org.