Is this Australia’s oldest lawn mower?
<p dir="ltr">Geoff has tried to retire five times but just can’t seem to adhere to a lifestyle without work. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A bit shy of 80, Geoff and his wife Gayl, 69, have together purchased a Jim’s Mowing Franchise and is now mowing lawns in Mackay and Ayr.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The even more exciting bit is that Geoff is basically booked out - working from sunrise to sunset. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"I'm up at 5.30 every morning and in bed by 8. I work from sun up to sun down," Geoff said. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"I've got so much work I am now going to employ my own kids and my grandkids. They have to help me out because I've got so much work on I can't keep up with it all.</p>
<p dir="ltr"> "People can't believe I'm turning 80 and I'm mowing five lawns a day."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Geoff and Gayl are part of a group of retirees who refuse to stop working. </p>
<p dir="ltr">A study of 4,000 elderly people, conducted by National Seniors Australia shows 20 per cent of pensioners would consider returning to the workforce after retirement if Age Pension requirements. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Sixty per cent of respondents said the main reason to re-enter the workforce was to earn more money, while 15 per cent wanted to keep active, and 12 per cent wanted to contribute to society. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Professor John McCallum, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Research at National Seniors said that elderly Australians re-entering the workforce will become more common. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“We have got something we are looking backwards at and not looking forwards for the next 20 years of an ageing society, which continues to 2040, and not setting up the systems to really make it work and to benefit the economy, frankly,” he said. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Supplied</em></p>
