Death And Ageing Pop

• •In the UK, the overall number of deaths has remained fairly stable since 1900, however, the death rate has fallen since 1900.
• •The death rate is the number of deaths per thousand of the population per year. 
• •The declining death rate has in turn lead to a significant increase in life expectancy.•Males born in 1900 could expect to live on average until they were 50 (57 for females).•Life expectancy at birth in England and Wales in 2013 was 90.7 years for boys and 94 years for girls.
• •The life expectancy was so low in 1900’s because many children did not live beyond the first few years of their life.15% died in their first year.••A baby today has more chance of reaching their 65th birthday than a baby born in 1900 had of reaching 1.
• Differences

  Despite these improvements there are still important class, gender and regional variations in life expectancy.

  Women still generally live longer than men.

  Working class men in unskilled jobs are nearly 3 times more likely to die before they are 65 compared to men in managerial jobs.
• •We are living longer - the average age of the country is rising. •In 1971 the average age was 34.1 and in 2016 it had risen to 40.5 . 
• Reasons 4 Aging Pop

  •Increasing life expectancy – people living longer due to improvements in health and nutrition•Declining infant mortality – babies more likely to survive first year due to improvements in health and nutrition•Declining fertility – fewer children born due to changes in women’s position and attitudes to children
• Affects Of The Ageing Pop

  –Public services–Family types–The dependency ratio
• Public Services

  •Increased use of services such as NHS and social care services more Increased expenditure on services such as, housing (old people’s homes), transport
• Dependency Ratio

  •Pensioners are economically dependent on working people (through taxes). Pension and healthcare costs are especially high.•An ageing population creates an economic burdenBUT age of retirement is rising- so old people are not always economically dependent
• 1 Person Household

  1 in 8 households.one person pensioner household Most of these are female, as women generally marry younger and live longer.This is known as the feminisation of later life – of those over 75, there are twice as many women as men.
• Ageism

  •Modernism = sees modern society as relatively stable, with predictable patterns•Many modernists argue that ageism is a problem because in our money driven  society we look down on those not able to contribute as much economically.
• Postmodernism And Age

  •Post modernists think that we live in a changing world where traditional views of age have broken down.Postmodernism = sees society as extremely diverse and unpredictable
• Inequalities Amongs The Old- Pilcher-

  •Class – the middle class have higher occupational pensions and more savings from higher salaries, allowing them a better quality of life in old age. Poorer old people have a shorter life expectancy and poorer health, making it more difficult to maintain a youthful self-identity.•Gender – women’s lower earnings and career breaks as carers mean lower pensions. They are also subject to sexist and ageist stereotyping e.g. ‘old hags’.•(AO3) Postmodernists can be criticised for failing to recognise these limitations on older people’s freedom.
• Policy Implications

  Problem= “how do we finance a longer period of old age?”

  •Hirsh (2005)- “ a number of social policies need to change in order to tackle problems faced by an ageing population”1.Pay more into pension schemes2.Increase retirement age3.Changes in housing policy needed to encourage older people to trade down into smaller houses/retirement houses, making enough room for young families.