Society is getting older. In 1990 about 14% of the population of the US was over 60, in 2020 it will be about 20%. In Britain the figures are similar. With further developments in medicine more and more people can expect to live a long time. This means that senior citizens (= people over about 65) may become a more powerful group, but it also means that services for them will need to improve.For people who have enough money from their pension and who are in good health, the years of retirement may be an opportunity to do some of the things they did not have time for when they were working and bringing up a family. Some people take courses, some go on more holidays/vacations, others do voluntary work and continue to use the skills they learned for their job. Public transport, theatres, and sometimes restaurants give discounts to retired people to encourage them to go out. In the US especially, senior citizens are expected to be active, if their health permits, and the sight of a 70-year-old lifting weights in a gym is not uncommon. Many elderly people, however, have a more difficult old age. Those who rely on the British state pension or US social security have to spend most of their money on food and heating and have little left for luxuries (= expensive pleasures). Others have poor health and cannot move around easily. Some are afraid to go out in case they are attacked and robbed. Many are lonely.
Older Americans who can afford a comfortable retirement may move to states like Florida and Arizona where the weather is warm all year. Many choose assisted living in an apartment in a retirement community , where they are near people of their own age and where there is somebody nearby to provide help if they need it. If they become ill they may need to move into a nursing home where they can get special medical care. Often the patient’s husband or wife can live there too. The cost of nursing homes is very high, and while many are excellent, others are not good. A few older people live with their children, but Americans do not usually want to be dependent on their children.
In Britain too elderly people like to be independent and to live in their own home for as long as possible. Those who find it difficult to look after themselves may have a home help for a few hours each week. Some may use a meals on wheels service. Some towns have pensioners’ clubs which serve cheap meals. People who are less able to get about may be taken each day to a day centre where they can sit with others. As in the US, some elderly people move into sheltered accommodation or warden housing . Others go to live with one of their children. Many families, however, do not have room for their elderly relatives or do not want them to live with them. When these people can no longer care for themselves they have to move into an old people’s home .
In Britain especially, elderly people get less respect than they do in many other societies. Nicknames such as ‘wrinklies’, ‘crumblies’, ‘old codgers’ and ‘old buffers’ are sometimes used to describe them in a cruel way. Elderly people are often thought by younger people to have little to contribute to society and to be a burden on the rest of the population. They used to be referred to as old age pensioners or OAPs but the name ‘senior citizens’ was introduced as part of a campaign to give the elderly a more positive image. Many, however, still feel that they are powerless, unwanted and have no role in society.