Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2022-02-01DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2029271
Gabrielle N Pfund, Patrick L Hill
Sense of purpose, a consistent promoter of successful aging across the lifespan, has been shown in previous research to decline during older adulthood. As such, research is needed to understand how to inform policies around promoting a sense of purpose for older adults, and which adults may need more assistance on this front. One potential mechanism for lower purpose in older adulthood could be due to the more limited financial assets many face following retirement. As such, the current study investigated the cross-sectional associations between different kinds of financial assets and sense of purpose among older adults from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 9,380). Sense of purpose as well as four financial assets were assessed: physical assets, retirement account assets, investment account assets, and debts. Findings indicated that greater physical assets and retirement account assets predicted a higher sense of purpose, while debt and investment account assets did not. Furthermore, there were no moderating effects of different grouping variables, such as retirement status, race, marital status, subjective health, or wave, on the associations between total net worth and sense of purpose. Findings are discussed regarding why net worth matters for all, and why certain assets may be more important than others when promoting a sense of purpose.
目的感是整个生命周期中成功老龄化的持续促进因素,但以往的研究表明,目的感在老年期会下降。因此,有必要开展研究,以了解如何围绕促进老年人的目的感制定相关政策,以及哪些成年人在这方面可能需要更多帮助。老年期目的感降低的一个潜在机制可能是由于许多人在退休后面临更有限的经济资产。因此,本研究调查了 2006 年和 2008 年《健康与退休研究》(Health and Retirement Study)中不同类型的金融资产与老年人目的感之间的横向联系(n = 9380)。目的感以及四种金融资产均接受了评估:实物资产、退休账户资产、投资账户资产和债务。研究结果表明,实物资产和退休账户资产越多,目的感越强,而债务和投资账户资产则不然。此外,不同的分组变量,如退休状况、种族、婚姻状况、主观健康状况或波浪,对总资产净值与目的感之间的关联没有调节作用。研究结果讨论了为什么净资产对所有人都重要,以及为什么在促进目的感时某些资产可能比其他资产更重要。
{"title":"Considering Financial Assets When Promoting Sense of Purpose in Older Adulthood.","authors":"Gabrielle N Pfund, Patrick L Hill","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2029271","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2029271","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sense of purpose, a consistent promoter of successful aging across the lifespan, has been shown in previous research to decline during older adulthood. As such, research is needed to understand how to inform policies around promoting a sense of purpose for older adults, and which adults may need more assistance on this front. One potential mechanism for lower purpose in older adulthood could be due to the more limited financial assets many face following retirement. As such, the current study investigated the cross-sectional associations between different kinds of financial assets and sense of purpose among older adults from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (<i>n</i> = 9,380). Sense of purpose as well as four financial assets were assessed: physical assets, retirement account assets, investment account assets, and debts. Findings indicated that greater physical assets and retirement account assets predicted a higher sense of purpose, while debt and investment account assets did not. Furthermore, there were no moderating effects of different grouping variables, such as retirement status, race, marital status, subjective health, or wave, on the associations between total net worth and sense of purpose. Findings are discussed regarding why net worth matters for all, and why certain assets may be more important than others when promoting a sense of purpose.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39879370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Food is a basic human need, yet a significant proportion of older Canadian adults are vulnerable to food insecurity. The health risks associated with aging make food insecurity among this subgroup a critical policy issue. In Canada, policy solutions to food insecurity are however skewed toward the provision of income support to vulnerable groups. While these income support programs are timely, little emphasis is placed on social factors such as sense of community belongingness. This is despite evidence that food insecurity is a socially mediated experience that goes beyond the ability to purchase food. Drawing data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 24,546) and using negative log-log regression, we examined the association between sense of community belongingness and food insecurity among older adults. Findings show that older adults with a "very weak" (odds ratio [OR] = 1.40, p < .001) and "somewhat weak" (OR = 1.23, p < .01) sense of community belongingness were significantly more likely to be food insecure compared to those with a "very strong" sense of belongingness. This study contributes to a growing body of the literature that demonstrates the need for an integrated approach to addressing food insecurity - one that goes beyond income support to include consideration of social factors like sense of community belonging.
食物是人类的基本需求,但加拿大有相当一部分老年人容易陷入食物无保障的境地。与老龄化相关的健康风险使这一群体的粮食不安全问题成为一个重要的政策问题。然而,加拿大解决粮食不安全问题的政策偏向于为弱势群体提供收入支持。虽然这些收入支持计划很及时,但却很少强调社区归属感等社会因素。尽管有证据表明,粮食不安全是一种以社会为媒介的体验,它超越了购买食物的能力。我们利用加拿大社区健康调查(n = 24,546 人)的数据,采用负对数回归法,研究了老年人的社区归属感与粮食不安全之间的关系。研究结果表明,"非常弱 "的老年人(几率比 [OR] = 1.40,p p
{"title":"Beyond Purchasing Power: The Association Between Sense of Community Belongingness and Food Insecurity Among Older Adults in Canada.","authors":"Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga, Evans Batung, Kamaldeen Mohammed, Yujiro Sano, Mary-Margaret Taabazuing, Isaac Luginaah","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2182082","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2182082","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Food is a basic human need, yet a significant proportion of older Canadian adults are vulnerable to food insecurity. The health risks associated with aging make food insecurity among this subgroup a critical policy issue. In Canada, policy solutions to food insecurity are however skewed toward the provision of income support to vulnerable groups. While these income support programs are timely, little emphasis is placed on social factors such as sense of community belongingness. This is despite evidence that food insecurity is a socially mediated experience that goes beyond the ability to purchase food. Drawing data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (<i>n</i> = 24,546) and using negative log-log regression, we examined the association between sense of community belongingness and food insecurity among older adults. Findings show that older adults with a \"very weak\" (odds ratio [OR] = 1.40, <i>p</i> < .001) and \"somewhat weak\" (OR = 1.23, <i>p</i> < .01) sense of community belongingness were significantly more likely to be food insecure compared to those with a \"very strong\" sense of belongingness. This study contributes to a growing body of the literature that demonstrates the need for an integrated approach to addressing food insecurity - one that goes beyond income support to include consideration of social factors like sense of community belonging.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9076016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2023-07-12DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2230088
Xue Zhang, Mildred E Warner
Age-friendly community planning and design mainly focus on urban aging and may be less applicable in rural communities. We collaborated with the Tompkins County Age-Friendly Center for Excellence in New York State to assess strategies for rural aging. This commentary argues that density and mixed-use development, as age-friendly development strategies, leave rural communities underserved. County governments, by supporting cross-agency collaboration and encouraging civic engagement, can link the age-friendly domains regarding built environment, service delivery, and community together to help address age-friendly issues and support rural aging.
{"title":"Cross-Agency Collaboration to Address Rural Aging: The Role of County Government.","authors":"Xue Zhang, Mildred E Warner","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2230088","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2230088","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Age-friendly community planning and design mainly focus on urban aging and may be less applicable in rural communities. We collaborated with the Tompkins County Age-Friendly Center for Excellence in New York State to assess strategies for rural aging. This commentary argues that density and mixed-use development, as age-friendly development strategies, leave rural communities underserved. County governments, by supporting cross-agency collaboration and encouraging civic engagement, can link the age-friendly domains regarding built environment, service delivery, and community together to help address age-friendly issues and support rural aging.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10131750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2022-03-15DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2047401
Alexander Castleton
This study used grounded theory to investigate older Uruguayans' use of tablets delivered through a public program called Plan Ibirapitá. This program was developed in 2015, by the leftist government that was in power at that time, to promote the digital inclusion of individuals considered to be excluded from the benefits of the information society, such as older adults. Through Plan Ibirapitá, older adults who receive a pension below approximately 900 USD, receive a tablet for free, training for its use, and 1 GB of monthly internet. According to the program's Fifth-Use Survey from 2019, almost 60% of those who received Plan Ibirapitá's tablet do not use it. To examine the relationship between older adults and the tablets, twenty-six participants were interviewed about their experiences with this device. Results suggest that the relationship they established with the tablets is ambivalent. On the one hand, the participants see information and communication technology (ICT) as modern tools that are useful for communicating with loved ones. On the other hand, they understood their lives as busy for which tablets were mostly unnecessary. These findings indicate that including older people into the digital world is more complex than distributing devices top-down.
{"title":"Older Adults, Tablets, and Ambivalence: A Grounded Theory Study of a One-Tablet-Per Older Person, Public Program in Uruguay.","authors":"Alexander Castleton","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2047401","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2047401","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study used grounded theory to investigate older Uruguayans' use of tablets delivered through a public program called Plan Ibirapitá. This program was developed in 2015, by the leftist government that was in power at that time, to promote the digital inclusion of individuals considered to be excluded from the benefits of the information society, such as older adults. Through Plan Ibirapitá, older adults who receive a pension below approximately 900 USD, receive a tablet for free, training for its use, and 1 GB of monthly internet. According to the program's Fifth-Use Survey from 2019, almost 60% of those who received Plan Ibirapitá's tablet do not use it. To examine the relationship between older adults and the tablets, twenty-six participants were interviewed about their experiences with this device. Results suggest that the relationship they established with the tablets is ambivalent. On the one hand, the participants see information and communication technology (ICT) as modern tools that are useful for communicating with loved ones. On the other hand, they understood their lives as busy for which tablets were mostly unnecessary. These findings indicate that including older people into the digital world is more complex than distributing devices top-down.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49219532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2022-08-11DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2111168
Yi Sun, Mee Kam Ng, Tzu-Yuan Stessa Chao, Shenjing He, Sze Hin Mok
Aging in place has become a popular social policy worldwide. This paper argues that well-being is an important outcome of aging in place, upon which older people develop autonomy and environmental proactivity. The temporal dimension of aging in place highlights development of place attachment, which includes place identity and place dependence. The study explores how older people, who live inhigh-density urban environments, make sense of well-being and place attachment by articulating their daily lives. Community dwelling older people aged 65 and above, who came from neighborhoods with high aging population and residential density but high and low median household incomes, were invited for focus group discussions. Multifaceted meanings of well-being include various dimensions that cover individual-collective and material-spiritual (psychological) construct. Meanings of place attachment include values of, bonding ties to, and memories about places. Three pathways are identified linking place attachment and multifaceted well-being. The study finds that social welfare and material richness are not the only determinants of well-being. Fulfillment of higher psychological needs, such as positive evaluation of life and self-actualization, should be emphasized by which older people can make the most of their life in old age.
{"title":"The impact of place attachment on well-being for older people in high-density urban environment: a qualitative study.","authors":"Yi Sun, Mee Kam Ng, Tzu-Yuan Stessa Chao, Shenjing He, Sze Hin Mok","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2111168","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2111168","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aging in place has become a popular social policy worldwide. This paper argues that well-being is an important outcome of aging in place, upon which older people develop autonomy and environmental proactivity. The temporal dimension of aging in place highlights development of place attachment, which includes place identity and place dependence. The study explores how older people, who live inhigh-density urban environments, make sense of well-being and place attachment by articulating their daily lives. Community dwelling older people aged 65 and above, who came from neighborhoods with high aging population and residential density but high and low median household incomes, were invited for focus group discussions. Multifaceted meanings of well-being include various dimensions that cover individual-collective and material-spiritual (psychological) construct. Meanings of place attachment include values of, bonding ties to, and memories about places. Three pathways are identified linking place attachment and multifaceted well-being. The study finds that social welfare and material richness are not the only determinants of well-being. Fulfillment of higher psychological needs, such as positive evaluation of life and self-actualization, should be emphasized by which older people can make the most of their life in old age.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40715313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2022-05-25DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2080464
Yan Wei, Wen-Jen Tsay
This study investigates the association between the intergenerational geographic proximity of adult children and the well-being of older persons in China. Data from the 2014 wave of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey was analyzed using probit analysis. Results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between the geographic proximity of adult children and the well-being of older people in urban but not rural areas. Older adults who live independently but with adult children living close by have significantly higher life satisfaction than those who live with or at a distance from their children. The findings suggest that more comprehensive top-level policy designs with respect to the allocation and management of affordable housing should be employed to encourage nearby-living and hence improve the system for supporting older adults.
{"title":"Does Distance Make Happiness? Geographic Proximity of Adult Children and the Well-being of Older Persons.","authors":"Yan Wei, Wen-Jen Tsay","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2080464","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2080464","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the association between the intergenerational geographic proximity of adult children and the well-being of older persons in China. Data from the 2014 wave of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey was analyzed using probit analysis. Results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between the geographic proximity of adult children and the well-being of older people in urban but not rural areas. Older adults who live independently but with adult children living close by have significantly higher life satisfaction than those who live with or at a distance from their children. The findings suggest that more comprehensive top-level policy designs with respect to the allocation and management of affordable housing should be employed to encourage nearby-living and hence improve the system for supporting older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42107334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2022-05-28DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2081025
Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle, Jill Tanem, Katie Jantzi, Erika Kelly, L Carter Florence
Ensuring the safety and social well-being of rural populations, especially rural older adults living alone with complex medical conditions, is challenging, given large, sparsely populated communities and limited resources. Using qualitative data from surveys with 42 rural Meals on Wheels programs from across the U.S., we highlight particular challenges to meeting the social and safety needs of rural older adults living alone. Respondents described challenges, opportunities, and successes in meeting the needs of their clients. We describe these under four domains: main challenges, what can be done to address social isolation and loneliness, safety issues, improving safety, and current successes. We also identify cross-cutting themes related to programs' rural environment (long distances, inclement weather), infrastructure (housing quality, access to broadband Internet and technological connectivity, road conditions), funding and resource availability, and service provision (availability of health care and partner organizations.) We describe each of these in more detail and also share policy recommendations for improving health and safety of older adults living alone in rural areas, including funding nutrition programs as a health benefit and addressing aging, poor-quality housing stock.
{"title":"Social Isolation and Safety Issues among Rural Older Adults Living Alone: Perspectives of Meals on Wheels Programs.","authors":"Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana Tuttle, Jill Tanem, Katie Jantzi, Erika Kelly, L Carter Florence","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2081025","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2022.2081025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ensuring the safety and social well-being of rural populations, especially rural older adults living alone with complex medical conditions, is challenging, given large, sparsely populated communities and limited resources. Using qualitative data from surveys with 42 rural Meals on Wheels programs from across the U.S., we highlight particular challenges to meeting the social and safety needs of rural older adults living alone. Respondents described challenges, opportunities, and successes in meeting the needs of their clients. We describe these under four domains: main challenges, what can be done to address social isolation and loneliness, safety issues, improving safety, and current successes. We also identify cross-cutting themes related to programs' rural environment (long distances, inclement weather), infrastructure (housing quality, access to broadband Internet and technological connectivity, road conditions), funding and resource availability, and service provision (availability of health care and partner organizations.) We describe each of these in more detail and also share policy recommendations for improving health and safety of older adults living alone in rural areas, including funding nutrition programs as a health benefit and addressing aging, poor-quality housing stock.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43291126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-03Epub Date: 2023-04-03DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2197562
Nancy J Karlin
Aging research tends to define rural as any area that is not urban without considering the diversity that exists within rural environments. Using government guidelines defining frontier and rural counties, the purpose was to identify similarities and differences in the aging experience reported by community-dwelling rural and frontier older adults. Individual interviews were completed in Wyoming with 142 older adults from frontier (n = 72) and rural counties (n=70). Summative content analysis was used to evaluate responses within the framework of social influences and nested environmental interactions of a socio-ecological model. Rural older adults reported needing more medical services and care, while frontier adults indicated an absence for many of these services. Similar response patterns were indicated with regard to grocery stores and general shopping. Current interview statements provide foundational information for future policies that recognize frontier aging in place that does not equate to aging in rural specific areas.
{"title":"Divergent Experiences Reported by Rural and Frontier Older Adults Aging in Place.","authors":"Nancy J Karlin","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2197562","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2197562","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aging research tends to define rural as any area that is not urban without considering the diversity that exists within rural environments. Using government guidelines defining frontier and rural counties, the purpose was to identify similarities and differences in the aging experience reported by community-dwelling rural and frontier older adults. Individual interviews were completed in Wyoming with 142 older adults from frontier (<i>n</i> = 72) and rural counties (<i>n=</i>70). Summative content analysis was used to evaluate responses within the framework of social influences and nested environmental interactions of a socio-ecological model. Rural older adults reported needing more medical services and care, while frontier adults indicated an absence for many of these services. Similar response patterns were indicated with regard to grocery stores and general shopping. Current interview statements provide foundational information for future policies that recognize frontier aging in place that does not equate to aging in rural specific areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9611644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-29DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2024.2319532
Thomas Klie, Christian E Weller
Financing long-term care is a growing challenge in aging societies. To address this challenge, Germany created public long-term care insurance (DPV) more than 25 years ago. Germans still need to prepare for their own care throughout their life course to supplement public insurance. This study presents descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis to examine young Germans' experiences and expectations of the relationship between the DPV and private financing sources. We base our analysis on a proprietary data set of young Germans (16-39 years old) that oversamples those with caregiving experience and East Germans. We find that public long-term care insurance is a substitute for rather than a complement to other financing sources. Specifically, many young Germans do not count on public long-term care insurance to finance care. Instead, they see private funding sources as substitutes for long-term care insurance. Those who count on private long-term care insurance are between 48 and 70% less likely to count on DPV benefits. Experience with care increases the likelihood of young Germans expecting future public benefits by factor of six or 18, depending on the specific care familiarity. Young Germans are also more likely to count on future generations to support their own care than they expect themselves to support the care of their parents through the DPV. Given that the DPV provides basic universal insurance that requires some complementary private income sources, our findings suggest that young Germans, who will need to build some of these income sources throughout their careers, are underestimating the value of the DPV and overestimating their own ability to pay for long-term care. Policymakers will need to reduce the political risks to the DPV and increase young Germans' savings over the life-course to address this imbalance.
{"title":"Complements or Substitutes? Young Germans' Experience and Expectations with Financing Sources for Long-Term Care.","authors":"Thomas Klie, Christian E Weller","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2319532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2024.2319532","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Financing long-term care is a growing challenge in aging societies. To address this challenge, Germany created public long-term care insurance (DPV) more than 25 years ago. Germans still need to prepare for their own care throughout their life course to supplement public insurance. This study presents descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis to examine young Germans' experiences and expectations of the relationship between the DPV and private financing sources. We base our analysis on a proprietary data set of young Germans (16-39 years old) that oversamples those with caregiving experience and East Germans. We find that public long-term care insurance is a substitute for rather than a complement to other financing sources. Specifically, many young Germans do not count on public long-term care insurance to finance care. Instead, they see private funding sources as substitutes for long-term care insurance. Those who count on private long-term care insurance are between 48 and 70% less likely to count on DPV benefits. Experience with care increases the likelihood of young Germans expecting future public benefits by factor of six or 18, depending on the specific care familiarity. Young Germans are also more likely to count on future generations to support their own care than they expect themselves to support the care of their parents through the DPV. Given that the DPV provides basic universal insurance that requires some complementary private income sources, our findings suggest that young Germans, who will need to build some of these income sources throughout their careers, are underestimating the value of the DPV and overestimating their own ability to pay for long-term care. Policymakers will need to reduce the political risks to the DPV and increase young Germans' savings over the life-course to address this imbalance.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139991468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-25DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2024.2320045
Myles Ongoh, Stephen Afranie, Fidelia N A Ohemeng, Kwamina Abekah-Carter, Anthony H Godi
Workers often participate in pre-retirement planning activities to gain awareness of the likely changes they may experience when they retire to enable them to prepare accordingly. Although pre-retirement planning is essential for successful retirement and healthy aging, studies on pre-retirement planning activities among older adults in Ghana are limited. This study explored pre-retirement planning actions that were taken by Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pensioners in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was adopted to gather data from 437 pensioners aged 60 years and above through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. The results indicate that while in active service, many (309) pensioners were not motivated to plan for retirement due to issues, such as low income, and distrust of financial institutions. When planning did take place, the pensioners favored financial planning over social, mental, and physical planning. The respondents also revealed that they did not prepare adequately for retirement due to low salaries, as well as low knowledge on pre-retirement planning. Policies are needed to encourage pre-retirement planning among workers in Ghana to enable them to have an appreciable quality of life in old age.
{"title":"Planning for retirement during active service in Ghana: Insights from pensioners in the Greater Accra Region.","authors":"Myles Ongoh, Stephen Afranie, Fidelia N A Ohemeng, Kwamina Abekah-Carter, Anthony H Godi","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2320045","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2320045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Workers often participate in pre-retirement planning activities to gain awareness of the likely changes they may experience when they retire to enable them to prepare accordingly. Although pre-retirement planning is essential for successful retirement and healthy aging, studies on pre-retirement planning activities among older adults in Ghana are limited. This study explored pre-retirement planning actions that were taken by Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pensioners in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was adopted to gather data from 437 pensioners aged 60 years and above through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. The results indicate that while in active service, many (309) pensioners were not motivated to plan for retirement due to issues, such as low income, and distrust of financial institutions. When planning did take place, the pensioners favored financial planning over social, mental, and physical planning. The respondents also revealed that they did not prepare adequately for retirement due to low salaries, as well as low knowledge on pre-retirement planning. Policies are needed to encourage pre-retirement planning among workers in Ghana to enable them to have an appreciable quality of life in old age.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139973962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}