The Ageing Population

Question 1

Describe the UK’s ageing population

Answer 1

• The average age of the UK population is rising. 1971, it stood at 40.3. By 2037, it’s projected to reach 42.8.
• There are fewer young people and more old people. The number aged 65 or over equalled the number of under-15s for the first time ever in 2014

Question 2

Describe ‘age pyramids’

Answer 2

• Age pyramids show how older age groups are growing as a proportion of the population, while younger groups are shrinking
• Hirsch notes the traditional age ‘pyramid’ is disappearing and being replaced by more or less equal-sized ‘blocks’ representing the different age groups. e.g., by 2041, there will be as many 78 year olds as 5 year olds

Question 3

What are the three factors causing age population?

Answer 3

• Increasing life expectancy: people living longer into old age
• Declining infant mortality: nowadays hardly anyone dies early in life
• Declining fertility: fewer young people born in relation to the number of older people in the population

Question 4

What are affected by an ageing population?

Answer 4

• Public services
• One-person pensioner households
• The dependency ratio

Question 5

Describe the effects of an ageing population on public services

Answer 5

• Older people consume a larger proportion of services like health and social care than other age groups. This is particularity true of the ‘old old’ (75 or over) as against the ‘young old’ (65-74). However, we should beware of over-generalising as many people remain in relatively good health well into old age
• In addition to increased spending on health care, an ageing population means changes to policies and provision of housing, transport or other services

Question 6

Describe the effects of an ageing population on one-person pensioner households

Answer 6

• The number of pensioners living alone has increased and one-person pensioner households account for about 12.5 of all households. Most of these are female, both because women generally live longer than men, and because they’re usually younger than their husbands
• Among the over 75s, there are twice as many women as men. This has been described as the feminisation of later life.’

Question 7

Describe the effects of an ageing population on the dependency ratio

Answer 7

• The non-working old are an economically dependent group who need to be provided for by those of working age, e.g. though tax to pay for pensions and health care
• As the number of retired people rises, the dependency ratio increases and the burden on the working population.

Question 8

Describe the trend of the dependency ratio

Answer 8

In 2015, there were 3.2 people of working age for every one pensioner. This ration to predicted to fall to 2.8 to one by 2033.

Question 9

Give evaluation for the effects of an ageing population on the dependency ratio

Answer 9

• It would be wrong to assume that ‘old’ necessarily equals ‘economically dependent’ e.g. the age at which people can draw their pension is rising.
• From 2020 both men and women will have to wait until they’re 66 to access the state pension, rising 67 from 2026
• While an increase in the number of old people raises the dependency ratio, in an ageing population this is offset by a declining number of dependent children

Question 10

Define ageism

Answer 10

Negative stereotyping and unequal treatment of people on the basis of their age

Question 11

Describe ageism as a consequence of the ageing population in modern society

Answer 11

• Ageism towards older people shows itself in many ways, like discrimination in employment and unequal treatment in health care
• Similarly, much of discourse about old age and ageing has been constructed as a ‘problem’ - e.g. in terms of the cost of pension or health care

Question 12

What is ageism a result of and how does it link to modern society?

Answer 12

• Many sociologists argue ageism is the result of ‘structured dependency’. The old are largely excluded from paid work, leaving them economically dependent on their families or the state.
• In modern society, our identity and status are determined by our role in production. Those excluded from production by compulsory retirement have a dependent status and a stigmatises identity

Question 13

Describe ‘structured dependency’ from a Marxist perspective

Answer 13

• Phillipson argues that the old are of no use to capitalism as they’re no longer productive. The state is then unwilling to support them adequately and so the family, especially females, often have to take responsibility for their care

Question 14

How is age structured in modern society and what are the effects on the old?

Answer 14

• In modern society, life is structured into a fixed series of stages, e.g. childhood, youth etc.
• Age becomes important in role allocation, creating fixed life stages and age-related identities, like worker or pensioner. The old are excluded from a role in the labour force and made dependent and powerless

Question 15

How is age structured in post modern society?

Answer 15

• Postmodernist sociologists argue that in today’s postmodern society, the fixed stages of life have been broken down.
• e.g. trends like children dressing in adult styles, later marriage and early retirement all begin to blur the boundaries between the life stages. This gives individuals a greater choice of lifestyle, whatever their age

Question 16

What effects of age in post modern society?

Answer 16

• Unlike in modern society, consumption, not production, becomes the key to our identities. We can define ourselves by what we consume
• Hunt argues this means we can choose a lifestyle and identity regardless of age: our age no longer determines who we are or how we live

Question 17

How does the old become a market in postmodern society and how does it affect postmodern society?

Answer 17

• As a result, the old become a market for a range of ‘body maintenance’ goods and services through which they can create their identities. These include cosmetic surgery, exercise equipment and anti-ageing memberships.
• These trends begin to break the ageist stereotypes found in modern society

Question 18

What are two other features of postmodern society and what do they do?

Answer 18

Two other features of postmodern society also undermine old age as a stigmatised life stage
- Centrality of the media: Media images now portray positive aspects of the lifestyles of the elderly
- The emphasis on surface features: The body becomes a surface on which we can write our identities. Anti-ageing products enable the old to write different identites for themselves

Question 19

Outline what is meant by inequality among the old

Answer 19

• While the orderly stages of the life course have broken down, Pilcher argues that inequalities like class and gender remain important.
• Many of these are related to the individual’s previous occupational position

Question 20

Describe class inequalities among the old

Answer 20

The middle class have better occupational pensions and greater savings from higher salaries. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and suffer more infirmity (making it more difficult to maintain a youthful self-identity)

Question 21

Describe gender inequalities among the old

Answer 21

Women’s lower earnings and career breaks as a carers mean lower pensions. They’re also subject to sexist as well as ageist stereotyping, e.g. being described as ‘old hags’

Question 22

Give evaluation for postmodernists and old age

Answer 22

• Postmodernists understate the importance of such inequalities. These are related to the structure of wider society and they play a major part in shaping the experience of old age, often restricting the freedom of the elderly to choose an identity through their consumption
• Older people also face discrimination that limits their choices: Age Concern found 29% of people reported suffering age discrimination than any other form

Question 23

Outline policy implications of the ageing population

Answer 23

Hirsch argues some social policies will need to change to tackle the new problems posed by an ageing population.

Question 24

What are the main policies that may need to change?

Answer 24

• The main problem will be how to finance a longer period of old age. This can be done paying more from our saving taxes while we’re working, or by working for longer or both.
• Housing policy may need to change to encourage older people to ‘trade down’ into smaller accommodation. This would release wealth to improve their standard living and free up housing for younger people

Question 25

What do policies changes also require?

Answer 25

• Hirsch recognises these changes require a cultural change in our attitudes towards old age.
• His view illustrates the notion that old age is social construct (not biological, but shaped by society). e.g. in an ageing society, our idea of how old is enough to retire may change

Question 26

Give evidence from an article for changes in pension age

Answer 26

An article in 2022 states:
- ‘The age for women increased from 60 in 2010 to 65 in 2018 to match men.’
- ‘It is due to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 by 2039.’

Question 27

Give evidence from an article for effects of one-person pensioner households

Answer 27

An article in 2012 states:
- ‘The effects of recession, property prices and cost of care for old and young have combined to revived the practice of several generations living under the same roof.’
- ‘36 million people in Britain now have experience of living as adults in the same home as another generation’