Discuss the merits and objections of keeping older adults in meaningful and productive roles

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

It is essential for the society to find a meaningful, productive role for older adults. Older adults who want to work and are still performing well should be encouraged to continue working well past age 65 or 70, even if only half time or part time. New roles might also be created for older adults as consultants after they retire in the areas in which they possess special knowledge and expertise. For those who do retire, there should be educational and training programs to help them develop their interests and hobbies into new sources of income. Working longer would have a number of payoffs for older adults and for society. Older people would continue to be productive, contributing citizens; they would have a meaningful role; they would continue to be physically and mentally active; they would have higher self-esteem; and they could break down the stereotypes of older adults being unproductive and a financial burden on society. And importantly, they would be paying into the Social Security system rather than drawing from it.
Objections to such a system may be raised by those who maintain that some older adults are no longer productive. This may be true, but some younger people are also unproductive. What is needed to make the proposed system work is realistic, objective, and behaviorally measurable levels of performance. Another objection that has been voiced about this new system is that older adults have worked most of their lives and therefore deserve to retire and live in leisure with a high standard of living. It would be nice if older adults really had this option. However, that is not realistic. Most older citizens do not have the financial resources after retiring to maintain a high standard of living. The only real options in our society are to work and thereby maintain a higher standard of living or to retire and have a lower standard of living.