Older People, an Invaluable Resource in Society

Reykjavík 2009 11 09Barbro Westerholm

Norden Public Health Prize Winner 2009

Some facts• To-day we live a quarter of a century longer than a 100 years

ago• Average length of life in the Nordic countries (men 73.7 –

78.6, women 79.0 – 83.3)• The legislated retirement age is 65/67/70 years, not because

we do not have the strength to work longer but because we think we can afford this retirement age.

• The actual retirement age is ( Dk 62; Fi, S 64; Is, N 66) • In the Nordic countries the share of people 60 + will increase

from 20 % to-day to 36 % in 2050• Half of the children born to-day will become 100 years old• Can we maintain the welfare state if we continue with these

retirement ages?

What is needed to preserve the welfare we have now?

• Senior 2005 – Every second Swede has to work until he or she is 79 years old in order to preserve the welfare state

• Delegation Housing for the elderly 2008: Every Swede has to work until he or she is 72 years old in order to manage the care of the elderly in 2050.

Thus, the answer is no to the question if we can keep the

present retirement agesWe have to work longer but do older

people want to work longer and do the employers want us to do so?

But first recognize! We are individuals and age differently

• Chronological age (numerical measure)• Biological age (physiological capacity)• Psykological age (how you function mentally,

intellectually)• Social age (interplay with the environment)• Perceived age (the way you feel) So, who is old: 50+, 60+, 70+ ???

Do older people want to work?

• Interview surveys in Sweden show that between 6 and 30 % want to continue whole time or part time.• Reasons – need the income want to retire at the same time as their partner like their work value the daily contact with the others at the work place• Work gives life content and meaning• The employer appreciates the work and workability• Their fellow workers wish their older companions to stay• In 2007 23 658 persons 70+ in Sweden were recorded working

The employers`view on older people (The National Swedish Insurance Board)

• Seven out of ten employers rarely employ people 50+

• Attitudes to elderly are a little better within the health and welfare section

• The employers with many young people in their staff are more positive to older people but rarely employ the latter

Which are the obstacles for older people on the labour market

• Fixed retirement ages

• Myths about older people`s working ability

• Inflexible working places

What needs to be done

• Kill the myths about ageing• There is no proven relationship between age and job

performance• Cognitive tests become impaired but there is a large

variation• In work performance experience, motivation, social

ability, lojality are important

How can we open the labour market for older people

• Change the attitudes of the employers• Open job centres for older people• Remove obstructing retirement ages

(parliamentary decisions, decisions by unions, the ILO-convention about retirement age)

• (Tax reductions)• And more research about older people

and work

And what should I myself bear in mind

• Advice to me by Prof. Hans Friebel, Heidelberg during the 1970-ies:

• ”When you have passed your retirement age, do not ask for an assignment, say yes only to those you are asked to take on. ”

Older people as a resource after retirement

Voluntary sector

Care of children, old family members

WHO Health Crisis 2000 (1982)

• ”The elderly have a vital social role to play. They are usually the most experienced members of society. They may have more physical needs than the rest of the family, but often they are the least demanding. If allowed, they can pay a positive role in the rearing of children, providing stabiltiy in the home and offering parents a chance of relaxation from the demands of their children. They can, because of their past experience, provide a psychological anchor in times of stress”

• Care of next of kin (70 % of the eldercare)• Participation in voluntary work (Red Cross,

pensioners` organisations, cultural activities, sports etc. )

• Read newpapers, are physically active, repair houses and homes, take care of gardens, visit restaurants/pubs/cafés etc,etc

What do older people do with their time?

From being ”somebody” to become ”nobody”

Interviews with people 80+ Tommy Svensson, Per-Erik Liss

Report 2006:2Prioriteringscentrum, Linköping, Sweden

What should be done

• A price should be put on voluntary contributions and

• The monetary value of the voluntary performances should be presented in the National accounts

• Initiate more research about what elderly do with their time and what promotes the development of active ageing

• Broaden the legislation on discrimination because of age in working life to comprise also goods, services, health care etc.

Ageism, age discriminationAn obstacle against older people to be

regarded as a resource

Ageism is defined as prejudices or stereotype conceptions which

originate from a person`s age and which can result in discrimination

Examples of ageism

• The Nambivaraindians in Mato Grosso, Brasil, use the same word for young and beautiful, and the same word for old and ugly

• There is a lack of positive synonyms to old/elderly in the Swedish language

Examples of age discrimination Sweden

• Economical support for a car for disabled people who want to go on working – age limit 65 years

• Senior housing, age limits• Loans in banks• Official statstics • Purchase on instalment• Waiting longer for an operation• Upper age limit mammography• Political representation• University position• Research grants

Essay by a 12-year boy

”Why is it more valuable to be an old furniture than an old person?”

Elderly a resource as role models

A grown up Pippi Longstocking or a grumpy grandmother ?

Placido DomingoRetire, moi?

”I do not want to sing one day more than I should, but not one

day less”

ConclusionLudvig Rasmusson: Age uprising 2005

• ”We recycle old newspapers … we recycle more and more raw materials, but not competence … we try to reduce our garbage mountains but not the mountains where our old people are thrown away. They are beatiful cosy garbage mountains but none the less garbage

mountains.

• It is high time to start thinking about the recycling…”