Your experience has no expiry date.

A ground breaking manifesto from Victoria Tomlinson and Louise Ballard - the urgent, optimistic case for putting the 50+ generation back to work.

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Expiry Date Never book cover

Victoria Tomlinson is speaking at

FT Weekend Festival

5 September 2026 · Kenwood House Gardens, London
View FT speakers →

People over 50 are being pushed out of income, relevance and opportunity years before they are ready. It is costing businesses, individuals and society. Expiry Date Never shows how to change that.

85m

unfilled roles by 2030

17

chapters

4

audiences addressed

100+

interviews

Victoria introduces the book.

85m

unfilled roles forecast globally by 2030.

Sitting alongside millions of capable people over 50 who are ready, willing and unable to get hired. Demographics, AI, workplace design and policy failure are colliding – and the result is both a crisis and an extraordinary opportunity.

AI hasn't made experience redundant. It's made it essential.

As AI reshapes work at a speed we've never seen before, the demand for human judgement has never been higher. Expiry Date Never shows employers and the 50+ generation how to turn that to their advantage.

AI is your sharpest tool – if you know how to use it.

  • Don't ask AI to write your CV. Ask it what a strong CV looks like today – then interrogate the answer.
  • Use it as a thinking partner. Knowing when to trust it and when to challenge it is a skill experience gives you.
  • Spotting the "plausible lie" – something that sounds right but isn't – is the most valuable skill in the AI age. You already have it.
  • Whether you're still employed, changing direction or building something new – AI opens doors faster than any previous technology shift.

Stop asking how your experienced people can keep up with AI. Start asking how AI can benefit from them.

Most organisations use AI to do existing tasks faster – marketing copy, report summaries, emails. That's the least of what it can do. The harder, more valuable question is: where should AI fundamentally change how we work – and where should it not? That question needs experience to answer it.

Klarna replaced 700 customer service agents with AI – then quietly rehired them. Lloyds Banking Group did it differently: trained their top 13 executives first. Now 35,000 people use AI daily, with productivity significantly improved.

Expiry Date Never shows you how to do more with the talent you already have – redesigning roles around flexibility, involving experienced people in where AI adds value and where it doesn't. That combination of speed and judgement is the competitive advantage nobody is talking about yet.

What readers are saying.

Michael Clinton
Expiry Date Never is a profound new roadmap for business, government, nonprofits and individuals to understand how the experience and knowledge of the 50+ year old can continue to drive growth and innovation. Tomlinson and Ballard put forth a compelling argument on how this can be done with fresh insights, examples and suggestions, all with a backdrop of the emerging AI transformation. It's a must read for anyone who wants to understand how to navigate the reality of the new longevity era.

Michael Clinton

Founder and CEO, Roar Forward; former President and Publishing Director, Hearst Magazines

Lucy Adams
We talk endlessly about skills shortages, yet organisations are still overlooking experienced talent – while many individuals over 50 are failing to keep themselves relevant. Neither side gets away with it here. This book is a much-needed reality check for both employers and the 50+ generation. It lays out why experience matters more than ever in a world shaped by AI – but also what individuals need to do to stay in the game: build new networks, develop digital skills and step into work that really matters. Practical, honest and refreshingly direct – this is a book that challenges assumptions and shows how experience can become a genuine competitive advantage.

Lucy Adams

CEO and Founder, Disruptive HR; former HR Director, BBC; international keynote speaker

Paul Johnson CBE
This very readable book explores one of the most important issues facing us individually and as a society, and provides genuinely helpful insight for employers, employees, and those approaching later life.

Paul Johnson CBE

Provost, The Queen's College, Oxford; Honorary Fellow - Faculty and Institute of Actuaries and Chartered Institute of Taxation; Senior Adviser, Frontier Economics; former Director, Institute of Fiscal Studies and HM Treasury

Debra Allcock Tyler
I found this book very compelling. It offers so many insights into why age is an 'issue' – what older folk can do about it, and, incredibly usefully, what employers, politicians and policy-makers could do to make the change Victoria and her co-authors argue for. Change that benefits not just older people, but the economy as a whole. A helpful read for those of us transitioning into the latter stages of life – and frankly, essential for anyone with the power to make change. Plus, it was super enjoyable!

Debra Allcock Tyler

CEO, Directory of Social Change

Lord Tim Clement-Jones
As AI accelerates at an unprecedented pace, the demand for human judgement has never been greater - yet we are quietly draining our workplaces of the very people who possess it most. Expiry Date Never is an urgent wake-up call for every CEO and HR director. Victoria Tomlinson and her co-author Louise Ballard make an evidence-based, compelling case that intergenerational teams are a critical competitive advantage, not just a diversity initiative – and that the unretired generation is not a risk, but our secret weapon in the tech revolution. A must-read roadmap for any leader navigating the future of work.

Lord Tim Clement-Jones

Chair, Global AI Council and The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society; Honorary President, Ambitious about Autism

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
A smart, timely, and deeply human guide to navigating the opportunities of longer lives, Victoria and Louise have written exactly the book this moment demands. With clarity, warmth, and just the right amount of provocation, they challenge tired narratives of ageing and replace them with something far more useful: possibility. This is not just a book about later life – it's a roadmap for rethinking work, purpose, and contribution across all four quarters. If you're wondering what comes next – and how to make it matter – start here.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

CEO, 20-First; Harvard ALI Fellow; Thinkers50 Hall of Fame

Michael Skapinker
The value of this book lies not just in its clarity, its vivid case studies and its finely-controlled anger at the waste of an older generation's wisdom and experience. It lies in its call to action: not only from government and employers, but from all of us who scoff at the idea that our useful lives are over.

Michael Skapinker

Work and retirement counsellor, Financial Times contributing editor and author of 'Inside the Leaders' Club: how top companies deal with pressing business issues'

Eleanor Mills
Timely, insightful and essential reading for anyone interested in maximising the 100-year-life.

Eleanor Mills

Founder, NOON.org.uk

Professor Nigel Lockett
The authors' rigorous exploration, critical analysis and powerful insights, drive towards the inevitable conclusion that we have overfocused on the event of retirement and grossly underestimated the growth opportunities from the 50+ leaders – a shocking omission! Multiple case studies highlight the significant impact possible from the 50+ generations and make the compelling and urgent case for changes across society, government, third sector and business.

Professor Nigel Lockett

Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship, serial entrepreneur, experienced mentor and co-author of leading textbook Exploring Entrepreneurship

Sue Douthwaite
An essential guide for all individuals aged 50+ who are seeking practical advice on how to navigate the many opportunities in their life and career journeys. So easy to read because it is written by passionate authors who are continuing to challenge societal norms. The book captures the wisdom of those with lived experience and provides a thoughtful and practical guide for employers and generations of employees.

Sue Douthwaite

Chair, Kroo Bank, NHS Business Services Authority and The Melton Building Society

Judith Donovan CBE
So simple ...so obvious.. but this could fundamentally change society as we know it over the next 30 years.

Judith Donovan CBE

Trustee, Science Museum Group; Chair of Council, Ripon Cathedral; former chair The Eden Project and Trustee, National Army Museum

Julie Stephens
As we seek to keep the human touch through AI role redesign, including navigating the digital literacy of multi-generational workforces AND customers, we must retain the skills needed to protect engagement and business growth – like learning velocity, judgement, and cultural intelligence. Right now we cannot afford to overlook the value of experience in these skills and continuing to reflect the customers we serve. Expiry Date Never challenges organisations to think harder about their experienced talent, while also setting out clearly what individuals need to do to stay relevant, often requiring a disruptive approach to role design and flexibility which helps EVERYONE be more included. Thoughtful, practical, and highly relevant, this is a book that will help shape better workforce strategy, and better outcomes for both employees and customers.

Julie Stephens

Group People Director, Bupa and Trustee, Age UK York

Zandra Moore MBE
Walking into that first conference, I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a room full of extraordinarily experienced people – lawyers, investors, operators – who had genuinely been there, done it and wanted to share it. No agenda. No strings. Just real, hard-won knowledge, offered generously. When I was navigating some of the more challenging dynamics that come with private equity culture – moments where I genuinely questioned my own judgement – having advisors who could tell me clearly what was normal, what wasn't, and what I had every right to push back on was transformational. It gave me back my confidence. Expiry Date Never isn't just a book about age. It's about what happens when experience meets generosity. I've felt the difference it makes.

Zandra Moore MBE

Founder and CEO, Zygens; Co-Founder and Chair, The Whole Point; Co-Founder, No Code Lab

Ajaz Ahmed BEM
Expiry Date Never deals with what it calls a 'ticking time bomb'; the interviews with people are very thought-provoking and definitely worth a read.

Ajaz Ahmed BEM

Founder, Freeserve

Maureen Wiley Clough
I realized early on that ageism was a factor in corporates, but was shocked when I saw it hit me even before 40 in my tech career. After I turned 40, my previously full inbox stuffed with recruiters' notes emptied immediately, and I saw how real ageism is. This book inspires by showcasing varied examples of experienced professionals in their mid-to-late careers who are thriving. You'll also receive practical tips on how to navigate the workplace as an older professional, complete with guided exercises. This grounded look at the reality of work for older professionals will help people realize they're not alone, and then move them towards a better future.

Maureen Wiley Clough

Creator, It Gets Late Early podcast

Four arguments. Four audiences.

Whether you're navigating your own next chapter, leading a business, shaping policy or running a charity – Expiry Date Never puts the case in your terms.

01

Your experience is your superpower – use it.

The unretired generation has more skills, networks and runway than any before it. Expiry Date Never gives you the practical playbook to stay relevant, visible and in the game – on your terms, not someone else's timetable. Whether you are still working, been made redundant or unretired.

02

Skills shortages are a self-inflicted wound.

Employers report acute talent gaps while filtering out millions of experienced people through biased recruitment systems, age-coded job adverts and AI tools trained on historically discriminatory data. This is not a supply problem. It is a demand failure. Expiry Date Never shows you how to achieve more with your existing workforce.

03

Put employers at the centre of the analysis.

Every recent report on 50+ employment – including those by Lord Stewart Wood and Sir Charlie Mayfield – frames falling employment after 50 as a problem of individual capacity. What is largely absent is any serious examination of employer demand. Expiry Date Never changes that – and backs it with evidence.

04

An untapped talent pool, hiding in plain sight.

The unretired generation may not want to rattle tins or join another board. Many want short, meaty, professional projects with a clear start and end – and most charities have never thought to ask for that kind of help. The opportunities could transform your charity.

Meet Victoria & Louise.

Victoria Tomlinson

Victoria Tomlinson

Founder & CEO, Next-Up · TEDx Speaker · BBC Commentator

From early leadership roles in engineering and at EY to founding an award-winning business, Victoria has continually reinvented her own path – advising boards on workforce change and unlocking the value of experienced talent.

Louise Ballard

Louise Ballard

Co-founder, Atheni.ai · FT Working It AI Expert · Author of the AI chapters

After thirty years in communications and selling her PR agency, Louise co-founded Atheni.ai at 52 – combining human coaching with AI to support organisations through AI adoption. At 55, she's building her career with AI, from scratch.

1

months

43

days

until Expiry Date Never publishes – September 2026.

Expiry Date Never