Economic Struggles of the Elderly
Abstract
The elderly, or senior citizens, have always been considered a vulnerable population, physically, mentally, and socially. This population faces a variety of problems every day including many economic struggles. Older adults and the elderly are facing many financial challenges that may not have been anticipated. In spite of good planning and sensible living, their resources may be sorely compromised, sometimes destroyed. What can be done to help this population through the transition into retirement? There are programs that do assist them including Social Security, Medicare and Pensions, however is it enough? The Social Security Act of 1935 along with Medicare have helped many Americans since they have been around and have many great advantages, but it seems to be getting harder and harder for our elderly population to get the assistance that they need. In today’s struggling society they may be causing more of a burden for the elderly and improvements need to be made. The difficult part is figuring out what can be done, if anything.
Keywords: Elderly, Social Security, Medicare, Pensions, Retirement.
Economic Struggles of the Elderly Old age can be defined in many different ways and can vary greatly depending on who is asked to define it or what the reasoning behind the definition may be. One commonly used marker for defining old age is chronological age. When using this method, one might define old age at 65 when a person is able to retire or at 50 when a person can join AARP, the largest senior citizen organization. In an article from the American Society of Aging (Altman, 2009), old age is defined by a quote from 1912 which states:
After the age of sixty has been reached, the transition to from non-dependence to dependence is an easy stage-property gone, friends passed away or removed, relatives become few, ambitions collapsed, only a few short years left to live, with death a final and welcome end to it all-such as conclusions
The elderly, or senior citizens, have always been considered a vulnerable population, physically, mentally, and socially. This population faces a variety of problems every day including many economic struggles. Older adults and the elderly are facing many financial challenges that may not have been anticipated. In spite of good planning and sensible living, their resources may be sorely compromised, sometimes destroyed. What can be done to help this population through the transition into retirement? There are programs that do assist them including Social Security, Medicare and Pensions, however is it enough? The Social Security Act of 1935 along with Medicare have helped many Americans since they have been around and have many great advantages, but it seems to be getting harder and harder for our elderly population to get the assistance that they need. In today’s struggling society they may be causing more of a burden for the elderly and improvements need to be made. The difficult part is figuring out what can be done, if anything.
Keywords: Elderly, Social Security, Medicare, Pensions, Retirement.
Economic Struggles of the Elderly Old age can be defined in many different ways and can vary greatly depending on who is asked to define it or what the reasoning behind the definition may be. One commonly used marker for defining old age is chronological age. When using this method, one might define old age at 65 when a person is able to retire or at 50 when a person can join AARP, the largest senior citizen organization. In an article from the American Society of Aging (Altman, 2009), old age is defined by a quote from 1912 which states:
After the age of sixty has been reached, the transition to from non-dependence to dependence is an easy stage-property gone, friends passed away or removed, relatives become few, ambitions collapsed, only a few short years left to live, with death a final and welcome end to it all-such as conclusions
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