Clearly, the bureaucrats have finally woken up to the fact that their employment policies are out of line with current realities. Yet fixing the age at 65 seems to be unnecessarily timid in current conditions.

Financial pressure keeps many older people at work but others are also likely to prefer to stay active. The absence of a mandatory retirement age provides choice and flexibility.

Meanwhile, the historic image of Hong Kong’s elderly workers being both poorly educated and unskilled is changing and, in line with other developed economies, the elderly are likely to be better educated, live longer and enjoy better health.

Older workers bring qualities of experience and commitment that are often less evident among younger employees. This is certainly recognised in my own company, which has no mandatory retirement policy and indeed actively seeks older staff, not for reasons of social conscience but because our experience with them has been very good indeed. We are not alone; I know many other companies that share this view.

The age profile of the leaders of a great many Hong Kong companies also suggests that old age works for them at this elevated level. Of course, it helps that most of these “old geezers” also own the companies.

The retention of older staff is, however, not without problems, particularly in very hierarchical and inflexible organisations, of which the civil service is a prime example. Promotion is often equated with longevity, which has the impact of denying a step up to more talented and hardworking younger staff. Where such a situation prevails, it is down to bad management and has nothing to do with an enlightened policy of staff retention and promotion on the basis of merit.

I should declare that I most definitely fall into the ex-young category. I remember my excitement getting a first job on a national newspaper in London, and thinking then that the person who interviewed me – an editor in his 40s – was old. As ever, one’s perspective changes over the years.

What I have also discovered in looking back over a career in journalism is how much I learned from the mentoring by older and more experienced colleagues. This aspect of employing older people is often overlooked but it makes a difference. Employers sometimes fail to recognise this contribution to improving the quality of their workforce without having to pay extra for the privilege.

Let’s hear it for the oldies.

Stephen Vines runs companies in the food sector and moonlights as a journalist and a broadcaster