Ageing Population Flashcards
Life expectancy
Life expectancy refers to how long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live. Life expectancy has greatly increased since 1900
Life expectancy through the years
For. Babies in 1900 it was 50 yews for M and 57 fir F
For babies born in 2013 it was 90.7 M and 94 F (predicted)
There are class gender and regional differences in life expectancy
- women have a longer life expectancy than men
Working class men in manual jobs gave a lower life expectancy rear middle class professional men
People in the north have a lower life expectancy grab those in the south - more wc population
Walker - 2011 more likely to die 7 years earlier than mc. If you do not have a disability you gsve a higher life expectancy I’d. 17 years
The ageing population
The average age of the uk population is rising
In 1971 it was 34.1 years by 2013 ur stood at 40.3 by so27 it is projected by reach 42.8
There are fewer young peioke and more old people in the population
The number of people aged 65 or over us equalled the number id under -15s fir the first time ever in 2014
Age pyramids
Older groups are growing
Younger groups are shrinking
Hisrich 2005 - argues that the traditional age pyramid is disappearing and being replaces with more equal blocks by 2014 rge re will be as many 78 yers old as 5 year olds
Why do we have an ageing population
Increased life expectancy. - people are living longer into old age
Decking infant mortality - nowadays it is rare to die early in life
Declining fertility
Fewer young people are being born in relation to the number of old people in the population
Effects of an ageing population
Public services
Older people consume a large proportion of services such as health care and social care than other age groups
This is partic true if the old old. Usually defined as 75 or over as against the young old (65-74)
Only has to be spent on these services to create
This is more money has to be spent on these services for the elderly
However we should beware of overgeneralising since many people remain in relatively good health well into old age.
Effects of an ageing polulation
One person pensioner households
The number of prnsioners living alone has increased
One person pensioner housjoukds now account for ever 1/8 households
Most of these are female, because women generally live longer than men and tend to be younger than their husbands
Among the over - 75s there are twice as many women than men. This trends is often ca,led the feminisation of later life.
Effects of an ageing population
The dependency ratio
Like the non-working young, the non- working old are an economically dependant group who need to be provided for by those of working age, for example through taxation to pay for pensions and health care
As the number of retired people rises this increases teh dependnacy ratio and the burden on the working population
Polciy implications
Pro minsters may be worried aboutt the effect of the ageing population. What type of policies could he impose to support this
- One issue enough money to pay their pensions and he,atcare costs fir such a long time
- Some of these pensioners are living in houses that have 4 bedrooms in, and old Doris in refusing to move.
Hisrich policy implications
The main problem of an ageing population will be how to finance a longer period of old age
This can be either be done by paying more from our savings and taxes while we are working or by continuing to work for longer, a combination of both
We need to reverse the current trend towards earlier retirement but thus will only happen if we change how we view old people
Changes to housing policies to encourage older people to trade down into smaller accommodation and retirement homes
This would release wealth to improve their standard if living and free up housing rescoruces for younger people.
