I Am 50 Years Old But My Twin Is 62: Age Reduction Among Public Sector Workers- Benefits and Challenges

The Centre for Ageing Studies organized a panel discussion at the Auditorium, School of Law on 30th May, 2018. The theme for the event was, “I Am 50 Years Old But My Twin Is 62: Age Reduction Among Public Sector Workers, Benefits And Challenges.”

The Panelists for the discussion were Rev. Dr. Ayete-Nyampong , Dr. Priscilla Twumasi Baffour, Mr. Collins Agyemang Badu and Dr. Akosua Agyemang.

Rev. Dr. Ayete-Nyampong, Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, began the discussion with the issue of age reduction among religious leaders.

Dr. Akye Essuman talked about aging and the resulting physical changes. According to him, he sees no reason why one should reduce his/her age since ageing is a natural process and will catch up with anybody.

Dr. Priscilla Twumasi Baffour discussed the economic aspect of the topic. She suspected that public workers reduce their age to enable them earn more wages. She added that since the retirement age for the public sector is 60 years, people reduce their age in order to extend their service.

Dr. Collins Agyemang Badu suspected that footballers are the lead in age reduction. He mentioned that public sector workers, security services, job applications and travelers reduce their age. According to him, most people are able to reduce their age in Ghana because the registry of birth has been monetized and any person that has money could easily change his or her birth details. He further explained that people reduce their age to get a job of their choice. He emphasized that there is a positive side to having an aged person in the workplace as we could learn from their unique experience.

Dr. Akosua Agyemang from the Department of Social Work explained that whenever we talk of age reduction, we tend to forget about people in the rural areas who work throughout their lifespan. She continued her presentation by saying that when there is a reduction of age, the biological age of their systems are usually not taken into consideration. According to her, some people reduce their age because they do not know the exact year in which they were born. “Our functional, biological and physical age suffers if we reduce the chronological age.”

In conclusion, the presentation covered the religious, medical, economic, psychological and social aspects of age reduction and its benefits and challenges