Experience
Matters

Reinforcing the importance and benefits of experience, wisdom, and understanding that comes with age can help to bridge the gap between an intergenerational divide.

National Seniors' Experience Matters campaign promotes the importance and imparts the benefits of knowledge, wisdom, and insight gained during a lifetime of experience. Whether you’re still approaching your senior years or already many years into this stage of life; whether you’re in the workforce, retired, or straddling both – throughout all stages of life, there are benefits from sharing and learning from experience. What are the topics and areas where you feel Experience Matters?

An Open Letter: Why Experience Matters

Dear Supporter

It is generally understood that with age comes wisdom, that we become wiser as we grow older. More years lived means more experience gained. Experience Matters.

Experience gives us essential skills, knowledge, and insight. It teaches us about ourselves and the world around us, helping us to enjoy life, overcome challenges, and live with meaning and purpose as we grow and mature.

Work experience helps us to understand a career path. Experience helps us to get that job and as we progress our careers, gain that promotion. We learn that experience is sought after and rewarded. Years of hard work and honing skills are recognised in positions and titles that signal and reflect experience such as ‘senior engineer’. We take comfort in flying with an experienced pilot.

Mothers often draw upon their own mother’s experience raising children; grandchildren delight in the experience of grandparents sharing tales of when they were young. As we mature, experience teaches us ‘not to sweat the small stuff’ and helps us to put events into perspective.

At every stage of life, whether we’re benefiting from experience being shared or benefiting from sharing experience – it counts. It may be not advertised with a position or title, but it matters. Until it doesn’t.

Although age brings with it experience, it can also bring a perception of being past a use-by-date. Our experience can be disregarded and discarded.

Yet, experience mattered then, and it matters now, even more so. After all, it is at this point in life – a culmination of lifelong learning – when we have fallen down but dusted ourselves to get back up, that our Experience Matters.

NSA’s Experience Matters campaign promotes the importance and imparts the benefits of knowledge, wisdom, and insight gained during a lifetime of experience.

We’ve all reflected on decisions that could have resulted in better outcomes if we’d been more informed. Some may be minor with minimal consequences. Some of these may be bigger with major impacts, especially when it comes to issues such as retirement income, health, and aged care.

While hindsight may be a wonderful thing, imagine if the benefit of wisdom and experience was gained to positively influence a decision before it was made, rather than impact it after.

Whether you’re approaching your senior years or already at this stage of life – there are profound benefits to be gained from sharing experience and learning from experience.

Experience Matters.

Chris Grice

National Seniors Australia CEO

Do you agree that Experience Matters?

Show your support for the value of experience by signing our open letter. By adding your name, you are adding weight to this important conversation. The more signatures we have, the louder our voice, the bigger our impact!

Wish I knew - Pearls of wisdom

Wish I knew …. you can earn income while on the Age Pension, but there’s a catch.

Did you know pensioners can earn income (up to $300 per fortnight) without affecting their pension? You may be able to earn more than this. But it isn’t straightforward.

Many seniors wish the rules for working on the pension were simpler and did not punish people who need to work. NSA is calling for an exemption of employment income from the Age Pension income test to boost pensioner income and workforce participation.

Wish I knew …. many employers value the experience, knowledge, reliability, and flexibility of mature age workers.

Did you know, despite the benefit of mature employees, NSA research shows older people see ageism as the biggest barrier to re-entering the workforce in late life?

Many seniors wish they knew there are resources and supports for mature workers available at Seek, Jobs Hub and Workforce Australia to help mature age workers better promote their skills and experience gained through working life.

Wish I knew … when to apply for the Age Pension.

Did you know the most recent reported wait time for the Age Pension is an average of seven weeks? And you can apply for the Age Pension up to 12 weeks before reaching qualifying age? Services Australia has more information here.
Many seniors wish they knew to apply for the Age Pension before reaching the qualifying age so they could start receiving payments as soon as they stopped working instead of waiting.

Wish I knew … about the importance of credit in retirement

Did you know how difficult it can be to obtain a credit card in retirement, even with proven capacity to make repayments?

Many seniors wish they knew to apply for a credit card before they retired, even if they have no intention of using it.

Wish I knew … about the importance of digital literacy

Did you know older people are at increased risk of being scammed and what red flags to watch out for?

Many seniors wish they knew how to take essential and easy steps to protect personal and financial information and keep safe online.

We’ve all had thoughts of “I wish I knew …” as we’ve reflected on decisions that could have resulted in better outcomes – if we’d been more informed. Some of these decisions may be minor with minimal consequences. Some of these decisions can be much bigger with significant consequences, especially when they come to issues such as retirement planning, health and aged care.

Imagine if the benefit of wisdom and experience was gained to positively influence a decision before it was made. To help inform and guide older Australians on important issues – to promote and impart the benefits of experience, NSA is releasing a series of “Wish I knew” pearls of wisdom.

Each “Wish I knew” pearl covers an area of interest and relevance to older Australians such as retirement planning, health and aged care. Each has been developed by our experienced NSA team together with the experiences of our generous and insightful NSA community members.

If you are on social media, like or share NSA’s “Wish I knew” pearls of wisdom with your family and friends!