What this book is
Optimistic, urgent and full of real stories.
People over 50 are being pushed out of income, relevance and opportunity years before they are ready – and then blamed for it. This "unretired" generation represent an extraordinary, untapped resource. Expiry Date Never shows how to put that experience back to work.
This is not a doom narrative. It is an optimistic one. Read this and you are no longer a bystander. You are someone who can act.
Individuals over 50 taking charge of their own future – staying relevant, visible and in the game
A new contract between employers and experienced workers
Government leadership to make age discrimination socially unacceptable
A cultural shift that treats longevity as an asset, not a liability
Inside the book
17 chapters. One urgent argument.
Chapters 6 and 8 (AI) by Louise Ballard. Chapter 5 (healthspan) by Dr Sarah Hattam. All other chapters by Victoria Tomlinson.
Part 1 · Understanding the Revolution
The Unretired Generation
Meet Lucy Kellaway – who left the FT at 57 to become a teacher.
Making sense of the new world after 50
Why the rules have changed – and what that means for anyone navigating work, identity and opportunity.
Understanding the barriers to employing the 50+ generation
The perceived and real obstacles – and the research that dismantles them.
Part 2 · Powering the Revolution
Revolutionary tactics – creating options at 50+
Practical strategies for building a forward path: portfolio careers, LinkedIn, new networks.
Managing money when income may change
How to plan and adapt financially as careers shift.
Living well for longer – the science of healthspan
A contributed chapter by Dr Sarah Hattam on what the evidence actually says about staying sharp, energetic and capable.
Part 3 · Driving the Transformation
AI – a catalyst for the experienced generation
What's actually happening with AI right now and why experience is the missing ingredient.
Building age-smart organisations
What goes wrong when organisations deploy AI without the people who understand the work.
The AI–experience partnership
How the partnership between AI and experienced professionals actually works in practice.
The flexible future
Rethinking how, when and where work happens – and who gets to do it.
Intergenerational working – the key to success
Why mixed-age teams outperform – and how to build them on purpose.
Part 4 · Scaling the Revolution
The experience economy: why employers are the missing piece
From B&Q to beyond – the business case for hiring and keeping older workers.
Helping charities: redesigning governance to use experience well
How the not-for-profit sector can put experienced talent to better use.
Rethinking retirement: from exit to ecosystem
Drawing on pilots with DLA Piper, EY, Addleshaw Goddard and others.
The new volunteer
Reimagining volunteering for a generation with skills, time and purpose to give.
Fixing the systems
The policy changes, cultural shifts and institutional reforms that would transform the picture.
Policy and the longevity economy
A global look at the policy choices – from rethinking crude age bands to designing for societies where people thrive into their 90s.
The future of work
Where all this is heading – and the choices, today, that will define whether the next decade is one of crisis or opportunity.