Zela – 2/4/99
New problems as we live longer While politicians are busy rethinking all the old issues, the rest of us
could start to think about the new problems that have emerged during these
last years of the century concerning age and our attitudes to different
stages of life.
The stages aren’t clear cut, and they keep changing. Babies start to walk and talk before they have twelve months under their
belts. Almost at once they are ‘pre-schoolers’, then move rapidly to the
extended and ill-defined tadpole stage of ‘young person’. There are no really defining markers on their progress towards becoming an adult. There
is the age at which they may drive a car, have legal sex or get married;
the time they can go unescorted into a pub or join the army – or the official stage when their parents are at last not responsible for their
tuition fees! ’21’ no longer has much significance; latch-key children
have
had the keys to the door since they could reach the key-hole.
When are people ‘adult’? References in the media to a ‘youth’ or misdeeds due to ‘youthful excesses’
evoke sympathy. This evaporates somewhat when the claimant’s age is found
to be 24 …..
Then when does ‘middle age’ begin and end? People put off the day when they have to accept that label, but they also
hang on to it to postpone acknowledging that they are ‘old’.
One day I read of an elderly man being knocked over on a pedestrian crossing. I read on and found that ‘Mr Smith’ was fifty five years old at
the time. I am sure that to the youthful twenty three year old reporter,
fifty five is very old. However, with the rapidly increasing life expectancy, ‘Mr Smith’ may well have another thirty years ahead. More years
than the reporter has lived at that point.
Today’s seniors often active and sometimes bored It is just over a hundred years since Victor Hugo neatly omitted middle age
when he wrote “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age”,
but somehow it is hard to accept fifty as the beginning of old age. For one
thing we have to consider that we now have an entirely new unacknowledged
generation on the scene; one of ‘active seniors’. These are the people well
into retirement, but fit and healthy and with a wealth of expertise and
time to be invested in the community, although often without material wealth.
Wastage of skills of Seniors Many Seniors do voluntary work and make valuable contributions but between
60 and 75 there is a huge human resource that is largely being squandered
at present. Enforced inactivity, inflicted on many in that age group, often
leads to ill-health.
Goals and purpose important Just because we have more years on the clock does not mean that unemployment is any easier to bear. The important thing about employment,
often forgotten in this money-crazy era, is not just that people get paid
for their efforts, but that work gives positive feedback, people to meet,
goals and purpose to life. Seniors need these things too, for as long as
possible.
Community service costs should be Government subsidised Senior work need not be at the expense of younger workers. Community service such as Citizens Advice Bureau, mentoring, or hospital visiting
gives meaning to life, but there is a need for some financial support towards transport costs and expenses.
Even in age the stages change The increasingly variable factor is always health, and while being involved
can enhance well-being there must also be the opportunity to really retire
if things are too much. That is why an adequate government pension is
essential in a civilized society.
At present a sum is allotted at a certain age which continues for the rest
of the person’s life, fluctuating only with the dictates of the politicians. It is not properly appreciated that there are different stages
of aging, just as there are different stages of childhood. These stages
provide different problems.
The goal of many seniors is to remain in their own homes and to be independent. One of the major problems here is that even if they were prudent and able on retirement to buy new appliances, repair and redecorate
the house, after ten years things begin to need renewing or repairing. At
the same time the ability to climb on the roof or to crawl under the bonnet
is diminished. Outside help has to be summoned. The provision of such help is a growing industry – and it costs!
A graduated basic pension needed While a universal pension at a set age is desirable, why not have a provision for a graduated basic pension increasing as of right with the
increased need to maintain not only the body but the environment of the
older person.