AGING AND SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY Chapter 12 According to the U.S. Census Bureau: • Older people are sixty-five years old and over • One in eight.
Download ReportTranscript AGING AND SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY Chapter 12 According to the U.S. Census Bureau: • Older people are sixty-five years old and over • One in eight.
Slide 1
AGING AND SOCIAL WELFARE
POLICY
Chapter 12
Slide 2
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau:
• Older people are sixty-five years old and
over
• One in eight Americans, or 12.3% of the
population is old
• This includes 21 million women and 14
million men
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 3
In 2000 there were 35 million
people over 65 years of age
• 18.4 million were between the ages of 65
and 74
• 12.4 million were between the ages of 75
and 84
• 4.2 million were 85 and older
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 4
The U.S. Population is Aging
• Fewer children are being born
• Between 2010 and 2030 the baby-boom
generation will begin turning 65
• Baby-boomers, born between 1946 and
1964, are the largest age cohort in the U.S.
• By 2020, 20% of the population will be old
• By 2050, 25% of the population will be old
• Average life expectancy is 77 years
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 5
Issues of concern
• Age Discrimination - ageism is prejudice
against people based solely on age
• Elder abuse - hidden and underreported
• Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of
dementia,4 million older Americans have
Alzheimer’s, and by 2020 may be as many
as 12 million
• Adult children as caregivers
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 6
Social Programs
• Social Security - Old Age Insurance
• Medicare
• For those who are poor, Medicaid and
Supplemental Security Income
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 7
Caring for Seniors
How will we care for people as they
age in our society?
Who will do the caregiving?
Slide 8
Retirement
How prepared are people for
retirement?
Slide 9
Are people saving for retirement?
• Only about 53% of workers have tried to
determine what they will need to save for a
comfortable retirement
• 30% of Americans have not put ANY
money aside specifically for retirement
• Of those with 401k coverage available
(optional retirement savings through
employer) 25% do not participate
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 10
Social Security: An important
part of retirement
• The average American retiring at 65 can
expect to spend 18 years in retirement
• The average social security payment to
retired individuals in 2000 was $844
($10,128 per year)
• In 1999, 91% of people 65 and older
received social security income
• Social security recipients automatically
qualify for Medicare coverage
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 11
Social Security keeps people from
living in poverty
• Half of all elderly people had incomes
below the poverty line BEFORE receiving
social security benefits - after receiving
Social Security benefits, only 12%
remained poor. The majority of those
helped were women.
• More than 60% of the elderly derive the
majority of their income from Social
Security
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 12
The social insurance aspect of
Social Security
• Social Security provides a secure and
predictable financial guarantee backed by
the federal government
• Privatization would mean relying on the
unpredictable “roller coaster” of financial
markets
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 13
Will Social Security be there
when we retire?
• Financial difficulties, that is more will be
paid out than will come in through tax
revenues, are estimated to begin in 2016
• Trust Fund surplus will need to be used, and
that should last until 2038
• To ensure solvency beyond the next 36
years, changes will have to be made
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 14
What are the choices?
• Raise payroll taxes (from current 6.2%)
• Raise ceiling on amount of income taxed
(first $87,000 of earnings in 2003)
• Raise retirement age (which will rise to 67
years of age by 2027, anyone born after
1960)
• Lower benefits
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
AGING AND SOCIAL WELFARE
POLICY
Chapter 12
Slide 2
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau:
• Older people are sixty-five years old and
over
• One in eight Americans, or 12.3% of the
population is old
• This includes 21 million women and 14
million men
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 3
In 2000 there were 35 million
people over 65 years of age
• 18.4 million were between the ages of 65
and 74
• 12.4 million were between the ages of 75
and 84
• 4.2 million were 85 and older
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 4
The U.S. Population is Aging
• Fewer children are being born
• Between 2010 and 2030 the baby-boom
generation will begin turning 65
• Baby-boomers, born between 1946 and
1964, are the largest age cohort in the U.S.
• By 2020, 20% of the population will be old
• By 2050, 25% of the population will be old
• Average life expectancy is 77 years
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 5
Issues of concern
• Age Discrimination - ageism is prejudice
against people based solely on age
• Elder abuse - hidden and underreported
• Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of
dementia,4 million older Americans have
Alzheimer’s, and by 2020 may be as many
as 12 million
• Adult children as caregivers
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 6
Social Programs
• Social Security - Old Age Insurance
• Medicare
• For those who are poor, Medicaid and
Supplemental Security Income
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 7
Caring for Seniors
How will we care for people as they
age in our society?
Who will do the caregiving?
Slide 8
Retirement
How prepared are people for
retirement?
Slide 9
Are people saving for retirement?
• Only about 53% of workers have tried to
determine what they will need to save for a
comfortable retirement
• 30% of Americans have not put ANY
money aside specifically for retirement
• Of those with 401k coverage available
(optional retirement savings through
employer) 25% do not participate
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 10
Social Security: An important
part of retirement
• The average American retiring at 65 can
expect to spend 18 years in retirement
• The average social security payment to
retired individuals in 2000 was $844
($10,128 per year)
• In 1999, 91% of people 65 and older
received social security income
• Social security recipients automatically
qualify for Medicare coverage
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 11
Social Security keeps people from
living in poverty
• Half of all elderly people had incomes
below the poverty line BEFORE receiving
social security benefits - after receiving
Social Security benefits, only 12%
remained poor. The majority of those
helped were women.
• More than 60% of the elderly derive the
majority of their income from Social
Security
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 12
The social insurance aspect of
Social Security
• Social Security provides a secure and
predictable financial guarantee backed by
the federal government
• Privatization would mean relying on the
unpredictable “roller coaster” of financial
markets
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 13
Will Social Security be there
when we retire?
• Financial difficulties, that is more will be
paid out than will come in through tax
revenues, are estimated to begin in 2016
• Trust Fund surplus will need to be used, and
that should last until 2038
• To ensure solvency beyond the next 36
years, changes will have to be made
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education
Slide 14
What are the choices?
• Raise payroll taxes (from current 6.2%)
• Raise ceiling on amount of income taxed
(first $87,000 of earnings in 2003)
• Raise retirement age (which will rise to 67
years of age by 2027, anyone born after
1960)
• Lower benefits
Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective, by Elizabeth Segal
Copyright 2007, Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Higher Education