I enjoyed The Royal Gazette's recent special supplement on Age Concern (October 9). It was easy to read and very informative. For myself, I was very impressed with the number of services available to my fellow seniors either free or at greatly reduced cost.

Also of interest was the marked increase in highly trained caregivers for most aspects of ageing. In particular, the names of Claudette Fleming and Marquita Lee are deserving of mention. I was even more impressed at the contribution of some of the illustrious volunteers, particularly Lady Swan, Walter Roberts, Peter Cooper, recently deceased Sir John Plowman and many others. This involvement by influential community members is heartening when the role of the family in supporting its ageing members is diminishing due to cost, changing value systems or just plain indifference.

But even in cases where the family accepts the responsibility for its aging members, the cost of such care can be prohibitive, especially when both family members have to work to make ends meet. Thus the economics of caring for the aged by family members is removing this option from more and more families.

One way of meeting the burgeoning cost of care giving is to review retirement policies of employers. As a community, we can and should mandate that all persons should receive a pension at the agreed age but should also be able to work as long as they are able to do so. With this additional cash, working retirees would be able to meet their own increasing costs of living and relieve the burden on younger family members.

The adoption of such a policy, would enable seniour citizens to increase substantially their earnings to the extent that their health and mental capacity permitted. This policy would have the following social benefits: It would vastly increase the income available to seniours still able to work; reduce Bermuda's dependency on imported workers; increase the availability of affordable housing and relieve the stress on offspring who are making a sincere effort to provide care for ageing family members.

And of course there are the intangible benefits to the seniors themselves. These are pride of performance, a heightened sense of independence, and a source of inspiration to young family members. I believe strongly that society needs to address the employability of seniors with the same imagination and energy that is being applied to care giving.