wfn.org | Concept of old age needs updating

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 26, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-71B{228}

NOTE:  This report can be used as a sidebar to UMNS story #226.

STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - To truly create a "society for all ages," the
concept of old age must be updated.

"Recent studies have shown that older people are living healthier and
healthier lives, and (are living) longer and longer," Suzanne Paul, the
founder of Global Action on Aging, told directors of the United Methodist
Board of Global Ministries during their April 19-22 meeting. 

For example, Asian countries are experiencing for the first time a
significant increase in aging populations. The Rev. Robert Solomon, a
medical doctor, theologian and pastor of the Methodist Church in Singapore,
pointed to Hong Kong, where the number of persons over 65 is expected to
jump from 9.8 percent in 1995 to 27.7 percent in 2030. Other countries, such
as China and South Korea, also will have significant increases.

Paul, a former staff executive with the agency, noted that most people over
60 now have "an enormous capacity" to continue contributing to society.

But, at a time when societies everywhere are "graying," members of these
older populations actually are working proportionally shorter periods of
their life spans than their grandparents did. In addition, weakened
economies and changes in living situations make it less likely that older
people have substantial pensions or family to rely upon once they retire or
can no longer find a job.

In particular, the family support system has weakened. "Under the best of
circumstances, families stay in touch with younger and older members," Paul
said. "However, most families are no longer able to provide a home or care
for older members."

That is becoming true even in countries where extending family living has
been the norm. In Japan, for instance, half of the elderly lived with
married children during the 1980s, Solomon said. The percentage had declined
to 39 percent by 1992.

"Modern society has become an employee society," Solomon added. Focus on
jobs has meant less time and less flexibility to meet the needs of family
members, she explained. "The usual safety net that was provided by families
in Asian countries now has many holes." 

Weakened economies and pressure from the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund to privatize public pensions have led to reduced health care
benefits and pensions in a number of countries, according to Paul.

But in the United States, where the popular Social Security program is
running at an annual surplus of $50 billion, there has been "a remarkable
feat of deception" to support arguments that the program is near collapse,
Paul charged. The push, she said, is coming from big businesses that would
profit from a change in the system.

"Privatization of public pensions will benefit a very few," she argued. "It
will benefit some - those who are already wealthy." But privatization of
Social Security will make the already economically marginal "very, very
desperate."

Paul said it is time to explode the myth that there is a lack of resources
to sustain the earth's  population. "Human society has never experienced so
much plenty. This didn't exist a century ago," she pointed out. "The problem
is that so much wealth is in the hands of so few. We must find a better way
to distribute the fruits of our common labor."

She urged board directors to help build intergenerational - and
international solidarity toward creating a just society. "Churches can and
must lead the way to a new society for people of all ages," Paul said.

The United Nations is observing the International Year of Older Persons
during 1999. The United Methodist Teleconference Connection will sponsor a
satellite teleconference on that topic on Oct. 16. For more information,
call (212) 870-3802 or send an e-mail to bhowe@interport.net or
shirley@interport.net.

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