Download Basic Concepts 3

Basic Concepts 3
Social and Economic Outlook
for an Aging Society
The Varieties of Aging Experience

Stereotypes suggest that age is the great
leveler – thus, elders are commonly thought to
be much alike

However, the opposite is true
Old age is seen as a “roleless role” – a status
with no clearly defined purpose or rules of
behavior
 Older people are often victims of ageism –
stereotyping and discrimination based on age

The Varieties of Aging
Experience (cont.)

Social Class – a key factor influencing the experience of old
age in all societies

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Race and Ethnicity – Whites make up roughly 84% of the
U.S. population over age 65


Social class is affected by occupation, income, property, and
education
But minorities will comprise a significantly larger proportion in the
future
African Americans – the largest minority group among the
aged, comprising 9% of Americans over age 65

They’re more likely to experience the crossover phenomenon – they
tend to experience more functional impairment, but are less likely to
be admitted to nursing homes
Gender and Aging

In all parts of the world, women comprise the
majority of the older population


The typical rate is for men to die early and for
women to survive with chronic diseases
Physical signs of aging bring more severe
consequences for women than for men

Among women in minority groups, there is a
pattern of cumulative disadvantage which results
in less economic security in retirement
Multiple Jeopardy and
Economic Well-Being


Double jeopardy (or multiple jeopardy) – faced by older
people who are simultaneously members of two (or more)
disadvantaged groups
The poverty rate is higher for older people than for any other
adult group

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Regardless of age, the poverty rate among minorities is more than
twice as high as among Whites
Given the sharp differences between men and women,
Whites and minorities, how should universal programs such
as Social Security take account of such differences?

There is also controversy about how to take account of women’s
experience in family roles and how these characteristic gender
differences should influence Social Security
The Economic Status
of Older Americans

Economic circumstances vary sharply among
different subgroups in the U.S.



Since the early 1980’s, the income of older people in the
U.S. has grown faster than the income of younger people
Income – refers to available money, or its
equivalent in purchasing power
Wealth – refers to all economic assets of value,
regardless of whether they produce cash

Both assets and income have a much wider range than
in other age groups – meaning there are more extremes
of wealth and poverty among the old
Sources of Retirement Income

Retirement income policy in the U.S. is sometimes
called a “three-legged stool”



1) Social Security, 2) private pensions, and 3) individual
savings and other assets
9 out of 10 older adults rely on Social Security for some
portion of their income, and 20% get all their income from it
Older people have not shared equally in the increase
in retirement income

The disadvantaged – poorly educated, minorities, and
women – haven’t had jobs that allow them to collect
maximum Social Security benefits or private pensions, or
accumulate wealth
Changing Financial Outlook



Life-cycle model of savings – predicts that as baby boomers
reach later life, they will begin to put more money into savings
when retirement looms on the horizon
Older people who live on fixed incomes are affected more
severely by inflation than other groups
The overall economic position of older Americans has improved
substantially in the past two decades
 However, the stereotype that most older people are affluent
is mistaken


There is enormous variation among subgroups of the aging with
respect to economic circumstance
A large group of older people have been brought above the technical
poverty line are still poor
Public Policy on Aging

When today’s elderly were born – most before 1935
– the U.S. government gave no special attention at
all to issues of old age


Since the 1970’s, the federal budget has “gone gray”,
and today over 30% of the total federal budget is spent
on the aged
Until the 20th century, the aged population was
small, and government’s role was very limited

The Great Society legislation of the 1960’s included
steps that federalized old-age assistance, and passed
landmark laws like Medicare and Medicaid
The Aging Network

Aging Interest Groups – during the Great
Depression, older Americans banded together to
advocate for their own interests while government
was expanding social welfare programs


The most prominent age-based movement today is
AARP (1958)
Many other groups include the National Council on
Aging, the Gerontological Society of America, the
American Society on Aging, and the National Committee
to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Trends in Public Policy and Aging

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Social Security and Medicare have grown rapidly
because they have been available on the basis of
age alone, without means testing
Federal programs for older people continue to
enjoy broad political support
Programs for older Americans have developed
incrementally for the most part, making it more
difficult to see just how much they have grown over
the years
The growth of benefit programs for the aged
reflects the growth in size of the aging population