Later life Talkback - 34

Who says older people are a burden to society?  

We might have known it would happen like this. Scrapping retirement at the age of 65 is not inspired by a desire to reduce ageism or to meet the wishes of older people who want to go on working in later life.

No, it’s all, as ever, down to money, pensions, and the cost to the community of an ageing society. The underlying message is that older people are a burden.

As their (our) numbers expand, we can expect evergrowing expenditure on pensions, healthcare, social services.  Pharmaceutical companies will put more and more money into researching ways to extend life, thereby providing fewer resources for younger people.  

If you look at things this way, the future is grim. No one over 55 will want to admit their age for fear of involuntary euthanasia.

But hold on. There are flaws in the argument. Firstly, if you go down this road of usefulness to society, what kind of policy should there be for babies who are born with major disabilities, people who are injured in accidents or war, healthy children who need to be nurtured and educated for many, costly years, the mentally ill, young people who develop degenerative diseases? 

Yes, they are all burdens too, though some, ie children, are a good investment for the future. What kind of a society would we be if we did not also invest in supporting the weak and injured, not only with money but with compassion? How could we not repay the contribution the majority of older people will have made to society during the course of their lives?

Of course, the promised scrapping of retirement age will at a stroke make a lot of people financially independent for a lot longer. Many will be pleased, but not everyone. Greater investment in private pensions throughout life will be a necessity for those who want to retire early.

But with jobs for life a thing of the past, there’s surely  trouble looming unless ageist attitudes change. Will firms want to employ people over 50 who have been made redundant? They are not exactly ecstatic about the idea at the moment, and the prospect of having to keep people in their seventies on the payroll may be highly unappealing. Only 7% of those aged over 55 receive job-related training. As a certain person once said, education, education, education, but in this case, for employers.

Meanwhile, let’s remember that the average pensioned-off pensioner is by no means a burden to society. Grandmothers take on childcare. Older people do voluntary work. Where would the teachers and staff at adult education be without retired students? Or travel agents, airlines, art suppliers (all those paints for amateur artists), garden centres, the whole leisure industry?

So let’s hear it for the older, not-past-it section of the population and a happy new year to all.

Do you have any ideas to add to the above?   If so, send them to me:   helen@laterlife.com or visit the laterlife cafe discussion thread on this topic.