December 15, 2008

Aging is inevitable. Disease and disability are not. Honolulu's Area Agency on Aging, also known as the Elderly Affairs Division, is responsible for providing community-based services for our rapidly aging population in a climate where funding levels for services continue to decline.

With the looming retirement of 78.2 million U.S. baby boomers starting in 2011 and the projected strain on Social Security, policy amendments have already been made to the program. In addit ion, the loss of about one-third of the American workforce will create a skilled labor shortage costing U.S. businesses hundreds of millions of dollars.

The statistics for Hawaii are equally sobering. One out of every five individuals is over the age of 60. Faced with a downturn in the economy, a massive depletion in the skilled workforce, rising healthcare costs, diminishing Social Security funds, and a rapid increase in the 65- population, how does a large city like Honolulu address the growing potential need for long-term care services?

One way is to lower the demand. An increasing number of surveys, studies, best practices, and stories published in the past ten years showcase seniors as an invaluable resource to their communities when given the opportunity. Yet, policy implementation has not accommodated the changing business landscape and demographics of the 65- year old population to encourage them to remain in the workforce instead of retiring.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann believed it was time for that to change. For too long, we have expected too little from the 65- age group. Instead of accepting disease and disability as inevitable, why not change the perception of retirement and aging and direct our efforts towards encouraging people to remain healthy and active AND employed well into their seventies and eighties.

Nationwide, AARP reports that 79 percent of baby boomers say they don't plan to stop working at age 65. Many wish to continue working if not full-time, then part-time. A change in business practice, public policy, and the public's perception of the 65- age group to encourage employees to work past retirement age, will ultimately support the development of a stronger, healthier community and business environment in Honolulu.

The Honolulu Forever Young is an awareness campaign designed to highlight individuals who do not view age 65 as a time to retire and slow down. Instead, award recipients continue to excel in their careers, are leaders in community service, and live active lifestyles. In fact, all of the 2008 Honolulu Forever Young honorees work full-time; several are in their third or fourth careers; and range in ages 79 to 89 years old.

On July 1, 2008, Mayor Hannemann held a press conference to announce the call for nominations. At the close of the call for nominations on August 1, 2008, the city had received 53 nominations. Award recipients were selected based on the successes of their current careers, their contributions to the community through mentoring, philanthropy, and volunteerism, and their healthy lifestyle. To be eligible, candidates had to be 65 years of age or older and gainfully employed for at least 19 hours a week.

Due to the number of nominations received for people who were performing full-time work without compensation, the selection committee added a Manawale‘a Award. Manawale‘a is a Hawaiian word meaning to give freely and willingly. This category was added to acknowledge individuals who excel in all of the award criteria, but do not accept a salary for their full-time professional services.

Nominees were reviewed by a panel of five judges. Six candidates were selected for the Honolulu Forever Young Award and one candidate was selected for the Manawale'a Award.

The awards luncheon, which took place on October 7, 2008, was a sell-out with 400 people in attendance. To publicize the event, a four-minute video vignette was produced for each of the awardees highlighting their accomplishments. These vignettes were aired every Monday evening leading up to the event on KHNL/NBC News 8. Honolulu MidWeek, a widely read weekly publication, produced a cover story on the awardees that was distributed the week before the event. And the Honolulu Star- Bulletin, one of two daily newspapers printed a full-page ad acknowledging the awardees in the Sunday paper following the event.

The previously recorded vignettes were played during the awards ceremony. The honorees were presented with framed certificates from the mayor and proclamations from the State Legislature. They also received handmade koa wood lanterns engraved with their names. In December, they will be honored with proclamations from the Honolulu City Council.

By changing how the public views retirement, the City also hopes to retain their most experienced workers. In 2008, of the 8,000- City employees, more than 1,000 are eligible to retire. To stem the loss of these valuable workers, Mayor Hannemann pushed for legislation that would reduce the penalty for retirees to return to employment with the City. The Honolulu Forever Young campaign, kicked off by the awards event in October, has brought attention to our seniors as an important asset to our workforce.

The City and County of Honolulu feels this awareness campaign will accomplish what legislation cannot – changing people's perceptions. Imagine if more cities nationwide hosted "Forever Young Awards" or launched their own public awareness campaigns. A change in business practice, public policy, and the public's perception of the 65- age group to encourage employees to work past retirement age, will ultimately support the development of a stronger, healthier community and business environment nationwide.