The ageing population

• In the UK (and many other Western societies) there is currently an ageing population. Low death rates and low birth rates means that the UK’s population no longer resembles the traditional “population pyramid”, but is being turned on its head, with the “baby boomers” becoming the dependent older adults of today. The dependency ratio is problematic: according to Donald Hirsch (2005) people will need to retire later and pay more tax
• Peter Townsend (1981) has suggested that old age is a social construct and society has enforced helplessness and dependency on older adults, rather than it being a biological inevitability.
• Key impacts of an ageing population on families & households include:

  • Families have to find money for care costs, etc. themselves, rather than having them funded by the state.
  • Older adults may have to sell their homes to pay for care, meaning the next generation does not receive an expected inheritance.