Defining a new stage of life
What does it mean to be old today?
Researchers lead to the evidence that ageing is connected with loneliness and social isolation. It is remarkable that in the UK population 3.5 million people aged 65+ live alone and nearly a quarter (24%) of pensioners do not go out socially at least once a month. But according to finance editor of The Economist, Sacha Nauta, a new demographic of older people has emerged – “the new old” – who are living their lives to the full, travelling the world and trying new things.
It appears that there is a new active life after pension. “If people are told that they are now in the age category where they are a burden to society because they have crossed the line of retirement age, they start to act it,” she says. “This is partly the signal institutions give, by saying that this is the age where you get a bus pass or your pension. We really need to move away from that and move to a much more gradual approach to ageing. It is not a cliff edge at 65. People in their 60s or 70s often want to continue to work in some shape or form, although on their terms. Many will either work part-time or become entrepreneurs or work in the gig economy- and here society can benefit from this vast experience, which so often going untapped.”
The new old are socially connected, integrated into communities and design their future.
Nauta mentioned in her speech at the AAL Forum that we need to treat elderly people as the people they see themselves as – active, healthy people with time to spend doing things they love.
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