The aging population, surprisingly, is a blessing for the young, the old as well as the home health care industry. According to several research, the global population of people over and above 60 years will be more than one in five by 2050. In fact, it will rise from 900 million now to 2.1 billion in 2050, according to the findings of World Health Organization.
It is due to this shift in demography as well as he rising health costs that has raised the questions regarding:
- The competence of public and private pension plans
- The retirement funds and others.
These concerns are genuine and the issues related to it should be addressed immediately by the policymakers. In addition to that, the enhanced life expectancy of the aging population that has incited the extraordinary economic growth. It has also provided new opportunities to fulfill personal desires.
- Ideally, this older generation are much healthier now as compared to their counterparts in the past generations.
- In addition to that they also want to remain healthy, engaged and attached with the community and their family as long as possible.
Apart from that, it is also the progress in bioscience and medical science that has offered then=m with the chances and prospects to live longer, healthier lead a more active live.
The dynamic market
The aging populations make a dynamic and emerging market. Given the present condition this growing numbers of the older adults represent a human capital resource and there are lots of opportunities offered by them and aspirations for the market to evolve and meet their ever-rising needs.
According to Charles Darwin, survival is all about the ability of the living beings to the adaptation to the changing environments. This is the same quality that is imperative for any business as well.
When you look at the private business sector you will see that they are the primary ones who make the most of the industrialization and scientific development. This has developed new markets and has also opened pathways for the diverse stakeholders and this aging population is the new frontier.
According to the report of Philadelphia corporation for aging and Oxford Economics, it is learnt that:
- The consumption habits and the care service needs of the older adults are different from that of the younger adults
- The direct spending amount of the older adults above 50 years is nearly $7.6 trillion and
- Their related economic activity in a year is about 80% of the household wealth.
The report also showed that the global spending power of the older adults more than 60 years will be more than $15 trillion by the end of 2020.
The longevity economy
This longevity economy is one of the most redrawing economic lines that is altering the face as well as the working process of the home care workforce. Along with the latest technology and inventions this market is growing and is crossing the borders.
If you look at the health care sector alone, this graying population has created new stream and offers in different fields apart from direct care providing services such as:
- Medical devices
- Biotechnology
- Pharmaceuticals and
- The business policy of the home care agencies.
They are now targeting the older consumers and to meet the rise in demand from these older generations that are not only using the human resources but also using robot caregivers.
Effects of the old on the young
There is a significant rise in the intergenerational conflict between the young millennials and aging boomers. There is also a very powerful belief that the boomers will consume most of the economic and government resources that is already scarce due to:
- The various Social Security plans
- Different old-age programs and
- Starving programs that help the young.
This leads to a tussle that is even found in the workplace as well. There are several boomers who still hold their jobs. It is for this reason that some of the millennials think that their chances to get better and more lucrative job and career advancement is restricted, if not blocked.
The intergenerational war
There is no denial to the fact that the world is aging rapidly and there is an intergenerational blame game going on in the global scale. This tussle has specifically hit the countries that offer health benefits to different public such as:
- The retirees
- Unemployed and
- Underemployed youth.
Once again, the older generation is eating up the future of the next generation. This may seem to be very concerning and even scary but it is not that grave a situation really. Why? This is because the intergenerational warfare is more of a hype or a phony war. The narrative underlying to it is that there is a far more real, powerful and worrying factor that is more worrying.
It is the story of the generational interdependence. If you want to know it in simple words it is, a workforce that has more employed aging boomers is more beneficial for the younger generation. This is because:
- They add vitality to the job market overall
- They make it easier to pay for the old-age programs
- This also opens up a wide range of social as well as economic possibilities.
As far as the younger generations is concerned, they will be at a significant risk if they do not seize the opportunities provided by the senior citizens.
The final thoughts
Therefore, it can be said that the fictional intergenerational struggle is entirely misleading. It is all the more important to focus on the old-age dependency ratio.
This ratio highpoints the rise in number of the aging population who are more often than not termed as the dependent elderly. Experts suggests that this increasing number will soon overwhelm the safety nets of the governments all over the world. This is because there will be too few a worker to take care and support too many senior citizens.
However, this ratio is not well accepted by the industry experts and few have even pointed out flows in it. Still the aging population is not entirely a burden to the society after all.