Once we reach retirement age, many of us discover we’d like to keep working. And why shouldn’t we? We don’t suddenly lose our usefulness, creativity or ambition when the clock ticks over into our 67th year. Many of us still want to be connected and engaged in work that has meaning, and evidence shows that working in a safe and accommodating environment is good for our mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Take some inspiration from three women who aren’t the retiring type

Florence SeeSee Righney, Nurse, 90

Last year Florence Ringey turned 90, cementing her as the oldest working registered nurse in America. She actually retired once, when she was 67, but that only lasted six months. Her colleagues have said “she still pursues her lifelong profession with the same energy, focus and careful execution of her duties that has marked her career across seven decades.”

Iris Apfel, Style Icon, 94

Known now for her quirky dress sense and sharp wit, 94 year old Iris Apfel started her working life as an interior designer. Soon after they were married, Iris and her husband opened Old World Weavers, a textile company that would be hired by 9 presidents for White House restorations. They worked there until their eighties.

In 2005, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art featured an exhibition about Iris, launching her onto the world stage. Iris is now an icon of style, and her career has been given a second wind.

But Iris is much more than just a face. In a world obsessed with youth and conventional beauty, she flaunts her individuality and proves we needn’t go quietly, unnoticed into older age. Among her many projects, Iris is now collaborating on a wearable tech collection of call-for-help bracelets for Wisewear.

Joan McClelland, Gallery owner, 103

Closer to home, Joan owns the Joshua McClelland Print Room in Collins Street, Melbourne. She started out as a journalist, but began working with her husband soon after they married. “I get bored when I stay at home” she says.

Working it out

Not all of us have the luxury to decide whether or not to keep working. Today, more than ever, we’re expected to work longer than we have before; we’re living longer, and stretching out retirement savings is becoming more and more difficult. Conversely, for those of us that would like to keep working, there can be many barriers – age discrimination is a real thing, after all. And sometimes (or rather of being human) derail our best intentions.

For example, my father lost his hearing when I was a young girl, and had to quit his high profile job with British rail to pursue a more solitary career. I’ve heard many clients comment that hearing loss impacted their ability to communicate in the workplace, and that hearing aids have helped extend or revive their career.

According to information on Better Hearing Australia’s website, ‘ Research has found that 34 percent of people with partial hearing loss and 32 percent of people with total hearing loss are not in the labour force, as compared to 21 percent of people with no hearing loss. [And] people with hearing loss [in the workplace] on average earn less money than those without hearing loss’.

In this situation, there are you can use to give yourself a better advantage, and I may be biased, but getting hearing aids really does make every aspect of life so much easier.

When it comes to the workplace, my advice is to address any areas that could hold you back – health or otherwise, keep updating your skills and keep an open attitude to change.