OLDER PERSONS AND DEVELOPMENTIncome security and social protection/social security and poverty prevention
Studies of international variations in provision of social protection and social security provision are needed. The different experiences and impacts of income assurance schemes on gender, widowhood and advanced age need further investigation. Knowledge and understanding of social protection and social security systems should be included in gerontological training curricula and also should be provided through formal and informal educational means to decision makers and advocacy groups. Those working with older persons need to understand issues around social protections, social security provisions and pension entitlements and uptake.
Research
- Study of psychological factors which reinforce retirement preparation is needed and attention should be given to the roles and responsibilities of partners in retirement.
- Knowledge and understanding of social protection and social security systems should be included in the training programs of all personnel with responsibilities for care and support of people at risk of poverty or disability.
- There are prominent gender issues in this debate, with privatization proposals tending to shift various responsibilities from the state to women. From a progressive perspective old age security reform is a movement toward universal entitlement, I.e. toward increasing public responsibility and fairness vis-à-vis gender, race and social class.
- There is much to be considered regarding the importance of non-contributory pensions as an overall national development tool. Data from Brazil and South Africa show that the expansion of rural pensions has an effect on reducing family and childhood poverty. Questions arise, however, with regard to the administrative, fiscal and political sustainability of such programs. Pension systems need to be customized to fit particular social systems.
- What are the structural factors and policies that encourage or inhibit labor force participation at older ages, and likewise activities after “retirement”? We need to assemble studies of bet practices to reverse the marginalization of older persons and enhance patterns of social inclusion.
- We need a rigorous examination of the concept of productivity. Economic productivity may not decline significantly with age in modern and modernizing economies. Conceptualization of productivity must include volunteerism, caregiving, and other unpaid spheres, as well as novel forms of income generations, etc.
- There are critical interrelations among the work/retirement/pension nexus and other social domain, particularly health. Multidisciplinary, longitudinal research must be undertaken to understand the interactions among domains, which ultimately affect the public-private pension debate. Nations should recognize the importance of intergenerational support and reciprocity, education and training, human rights, abuse and neglect, and the quality of housing, transportation and living environments.
- Societies need to recognize that there are emerging concerns about the strategic dimensions of population ageing, including an array of macroeconomic impacts on industrialized economies, and potentially destabilizing impacts on lee-developed societies, global military ramifications, and important implications regarding population migration streams.