Ageism and the midlife workplace shut out
Plus, in today's papers "We are running the race to retirement riches backward"
In this week’s edition:
Feature: Ageism and the midlife workplace shut out
Newspapers: “We are running the race to retirement riches backward”
Podcast: Why I wrote Prime Time—and what I hope it sparks
From Bec’s Desk: #2 on the Bestseller List - and holding ground
Prime Time is currently #2 on the Amazon Bestseller List
Ordered your copy yet? Learn more about the book on my new website www.becwilson.net.
Ageism and the midlife workplace shut out
There’s a new report from the Australian Human Rights Commission that stopped me in my tracks: a quarter of HR professionals now classify people aged 51 to 55 as ‘old’.
Old. At 51.
I nearly choked on my coffee.
That number has jumped from 10 per cent just last year. And if it’s accurate, it means a huge number of people are being quietly sidelined while they’re still in the prime of their lives - not because they’ve lost capacity or motivation, but because of an outdated story about age. As I put it in my book, they’re being measured against templates that no longer fit. And because even we, the people in this generation don’t understand the templates are broken, it’s unsurprising that younger generations and employers don’t grasp it.
For many people this age-first judgement of them is insulting. It’s wasteful. For individuals, for the economy, and for a society that claims to value experience and want high quality leadership.
The report says, even with more than half of employers reporting hard-to-fill vacancies, only 56 per cent say they’re open to hiring workers aged 50 to 64 to any real extent. That drops to 28 per cent for people over 65. And 18 per cent admit they won’t consider older candidates at all.
So we’re hearing it directly from employers: they’re less likely to hire someone over 50, not because of ability or attitude, but because of age. Then, when they do hire someone older, they report no meaningful difference in energy, creativity, adaptability or output. 🤯
These findings match what many people are experiencing once they hit their 50s - lots and lots of people are facing ageist HR departments and employers. So, if we want to keep working, and get real satisfaction from that work, we need to talk about what’s actually going on. Because this might not be a problem we can solve head-on. It might be something we need to plan around, navigate, or even step around altogether. Why bash your head against the wall creating change when you can simply change industries to one that appreciates and needs age and experience?
It’s a tough reality, and yes, it can feel personal. But naming it and pointing out the industries and companies where ageism is rife - that helps. It stops us wasting energy thinking we’ve done something wrong.
This part of midlife doesn’t get enough airtime. You’re not done. You’re not coasting. You’re not invisible. But the world might be starting to look through you anyway. And that disconnect - the gap between who you know yourself to be and what others assume based on your age - can fuel doubt, frustration, and that quiet question: what if they’re right?
We may not be able to change the system. But we can change how we respond to it.
If you’re facing this midlife workplace shut-out, don’t just wait and hope it passes. It is unlikely to in our lifetime. Instead think of these steps:
Start by getting really honest about your position, your next step on the path and your options. That means checking your skills against what’s actually being hired for - not what you used to be hired for. It means talking to people outside your usual bubble. You’ll get better, faster intel from a friend-of-a-friend in a different industry than you will from hours trawling job boards that filter you out before you’ve even hit apply.
If you're still in work but watching the writing appear on the wall, now is the time to future-proof yourself. Think about what industries actually value age and experience - health, education, training, compliance, aged care, professional services, consulting, not-for-profits, and regional leadership roles. They're not always glamorous, but they often need someone who knows how to lead, stay calm under pressure, or manage people with empathy.
And if you're already on the outer, stop pouring energy into a job market that's ignoring you. Start having conversations about what you could buy, build, or join. There are hundreds of solid, low-drama businesses changing hands every month - cafés, bookkeeping services, cleaning companies, tutoring agencies, franchises. Most of them don’t make headlines or have IPOs, but they make money and offer independence, flexibility, and meaning. That’s worth more than a perfect résumé and another round of ghosted applications.
This isn’t about chasing reinvention for the sake of it. It’s about being honest with yourself about the system you’re in, and choosing the option that gets you back in the game. Not stuck outside it, wondering what happened.
We may not be able to change the system. But we can change how we respond to it. Have you had an experience with ageism in your workplace? Or have you struggled with being shut out?
LAST DAYS OF THE EARLYBIRD 25% OFF DEAL
The next edition of the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course kicks off on the 28th August. And we are closing the 25% off earlybird deal this week and packing our welcome packs for sending off. And I have exciting news.
This is going to be our LARGEST COHORT EVER! That makes it even more fun to be honest! More community conversation and people to ask questions!
My 6-week How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course has helped thousands of Aussies set themselves up for a retirement that’s smart, secure, and actually fun - with real strategies for money, time, health, happiness, travel, and how to age well in your own home.
👉 Check it out here and download the new brochure for Spring 2025
Let’s make your retirement epic.
Well, at the time of writing on Saturday, Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife is still at #2 on the overall Amazon Australia Bestseller List. That’s five days in the top ten, at least three of which were in the top two! Happy. With. That!
Thanks to everyone who has got in and bought a copy. We're kicking off a fun little competition to celebrate the launch of Prime Time the book - and launching our first ever MERCH! You’ve really inspired us with all the photos of your books going up in the group and we want to reward you with prizes. More on that below.
This week was packed with wonderful moments. The moment we got into the top ten, then watching it climb all the way to number two - I think the community was as excited as I was, messaging me, sending me photos of the rankings, cheering our new book baby on (it’s ours not mine!). Watching the excitement of our community as their books started to arrive in their mailboxes was wild - they started posting photos everywhere which really made my week.
Then, the opportunity to talk about it. Live talkback radio shows in three states on high profile programs - one with Steve Austin in ABC Brisbane Mornings. One on ABC NSW Statewide Drive with Jess and one on ABC Sydney’s breakfast on Saturday with Dom Knight.
An extract of the book published in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald (read it here - unpaywalled). How to Revel in your new empty nest
And a Live Launch of the book on Youtube with my publisher Sophie Hamley which we packaged up into this week’s podcast so you can learn some of the things that drive the book. (below)
The book How to Have an Epic Retirement also got a bump this week and had to be rushed to reprint! Yay!
And, Nina started on our team in the Epic Retirement Institute this week too. Gosh was that great timing. We have a course about to kick off in August, and it’s about to be all-hands-on-course-delivery! It will be our biggest course cohort ever I’m excited to say!
I’m sure there’s more. But this week was a blur. (A good one).
Now, about the competition!
COMPETITION - WIN A LIMITED EDITION PRIME TIME COFFEE MUG
We’re giving away ten limited edition quirky Prime Time coffee mugs - they’re funny (a little bit rude) and fabulous—we’re just putting the finishing touches on the designs now).
To enter, all you need to do is:
📸 Post a fun photo with your Prime Time book - get creative!
📖 Or share your favourite quote or moment from the book
📍 Post it on your wall and/or in this group
🏷️ Use the hashtag #PRIMETIME and tag me:
– @becwilsonepic on Facebook or @epicretirement on Instagram
That’s it! You’ll be in the running to win, and we’ll select the winners at the end of the first month after launch.
And if you haven’t grabbed your copy of the book yet, you can get it here:
👉 https://amzn.to/3UE62bk
Or see all the stockists here.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with. We hope you’ll make it bold, cheeky, or meaningful. This is your Prime Time after all.
Now go, enjoy your Sunday. And thank you - your support is unbelievable. I’m glad you can put my work to good use!
Bec x
Cheers, Bec Wilson
Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker
We are running the race to retirement riches backward
Extract of article published in print in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, WA Today on Sunday 3rd August 2025.
We’ve been sold a dream that kicks in at 60, 65 or 67. First by governments promising age pensions back in the early 1900s, and now by the superannuation industry selling glossy visions of leisure and freedom.
And the planning for it? That usually happens just before people stop working – often too late to reshape anything meaningful.
But for a growing number of Australians, it’s not retirement itself that shapes their future. It’s the decade or so before it. That’s the window where you still have time to make strategic decisions – about money, work, lifestyle, and how you want the next 30 years to feel.
The problem is that the word retirement still sounds like the end. It feels old. And for many people in their 50s, thinking too far ahead feels uncomfortable. They put off planning, or assume their super will take care of itself, or just hope things will work out.
But by the time they’re ready to engage, they’re often left asking, “why didn’t I know this sooner?”
The truth is, the best retirements don’t start at 65 or 67. They start in your 50s, with practical decisions that give you more flexibility and less pressure – now and later.
That might mean getting serious about salary sacrificing or topping up your super while you’re still earning well and getting it into the position where, if it compounds at a long-term return rate of 7 to 10 per cent over 15 years ahead, before you retire, that it will be “enough”. And you can even forecast that in your late 40s or 50s.
It could mean getting the mortgage under control as early as you can once the kids are (finally) off your hands. Or thinking differently about your home versus investment mix, and perhaps choosing to downsize and shift money into superannuation once the downsizing window, which so many people are unaware of, opens at the age of 55. That’s when the government allows you to put in up to $300,000 per person from the sale of your principal residence if you’ve owned it for 10 years or more.
(READ ON… my articles are never paywalled for Aussies in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald. )
Why I wrote Prime Time—and what I hope it sparks
Well, it’s here. Prime Time isn’t just a podcast anymore - it’s now a book, and on day 1, it’s a bestseller!
Yep, Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife is officially out in the wild, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring you this behind-the-scenes episode. I’m joined by the incredible Sophie Hamley, my publisher from Hachette Australia and the woman who said yes (twice!) - first to How to Have an Epic Retirement and now to this book, which I’m calling ‘the prequel’ to an Epic Retirement. This new book is packed with all the things you’d have wished you knew earlier and put into action.
We’re digging into what this book is really about, how it came together, and why that bump so many people go through in midlife isn’t a crisis - it’s quite possibly the beginning of your prime time. If you’re anywhere between 47 and 70, still working, still juggling, still trying to figure out what the hell comes next… this is your episode.
It’s a casual, personal conversation. We actually recorded it as a ‘Prime Time live’ on launch day on Youtube —Wednesday 30 July — with all the anticipation and buzz that comes from two people who’ve poured so much into something and are finally watching it land. It’s real, it’s reflective, and it’s a bit of a celebration too. So have a listen, order a copy, and make YOUR Prime Time count.
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST HERE:
Public health services do not value experienced nurses, newly qualified are promoted and older experienced are ignored.
Your observations are spot on… and yes as older job seekers we can pivot and adjust our expectations… an we do… but asking the marginalised group to accept bias and discrimination is not the answer… thank you gor raising what is a very real issue