[:es]There has, of late, been plenty of press coverage related to the “senior citizens” of Chile.

All kinds of statistics are thrown about like confeti, but there is an undeniable fact hidden within: we do get older – every day! Also, as the world’s population grows it is also aging. In Japan they recently acknowledged a rapidly aging population which included over 65,000 people aged at least 100. That in itself would be a sizeable city in Chile!

By international definition one becomes a “senior citizen” at 60 and so I am most definitely a “senior”. However, if the tendency is (with prudent living habits – now that really is a problem!) to reach 100, then I still have a very long way to go; a long life ahead of me. By 2030 one third of Chile’s population will be over 60. Add to this the fact that the retirement age in Chile is 60 for women and 65 for men and birth rates are at an all time low, you can easily appreciate how we will fast become “top heavy…” This is further compounded by a Private Pension scheme which is coming under invfeased scutiny from people who seem not to understand basic mathematics…

However, I do have something in common with the sceptics and the question I ask myself is “can I afford to live to be 100”? and the answer is definitely NO. I recall an interesting meeting with my “investments manager” in the US some years ago. He asked me how much wealth I wanted to accumulate by the time I died and I answered “none, I want to spend it all”. He was aghast and explained that accumulating wealth was essential. I disagreed and told him the idea of earning money was to spend it – and thus I have lived.

There is only one problem. When I did my calculation I estimated my life expectancy to be 80 and I earned and saved and spent with that in mind. So, I cannot live beyond 80! Why 80? Well my father lived to 54 and my grandfather to 62 and taking into account the improvements in nutrition and healthcare (and those prudent habits….) I felt that 80 was a good number. My mother lived to 92 which, again, made 80 for a male seem more than adequate. Add to this the fact that when you are 40, 80 seems a very, very long way away.

So now I am a senior and have to face the facts. Every edible product you purchase has a “use by date” stamped on it and I have just recently had my first tatoo. It is there for all to see (well, not that easily); it is stamped on my left buttock. This is my expiration date, my “used up by” date. It makes things so simple for my children and grandchildren: help keep me alive and happy until my 80th birthday and then all bets are off. Put me on my skis and send my down the steepest slope you can find. If I make it, then just repeat process until you hear the “big bang”!

Are we going to be a burden on our children and grandchildren? Not me! But I think I can make it to 80 on my own at one meal a day and a little less wine…

Cause for sadness? No way! This is not euthanasia it is simply “programmed expiration”… Anyway, who would play golf with me at 86? I am bad enough now!! I look foward to heavenly golf and an improving handicap!

I will remain vigorous, relevant and on the move, right up to my expiration date.

Santiago Eneldo

(Join me! We are a small group, but an enlightened one! [email protected])

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