What policies might relieve the burden of an older population?

Question

The problem that the entire developed world will soon face is demographic graying: an older population, with many retirees. The burden of supporting the retirees will fall on a smaller number of workers, a burden worsened by medical progress that keeps the elderly alive much longer at much greater cost. What policies might relieve this burden?

Answer 1

I wish we had transfered social security and medicare from a pay as you go system to a semi-private savings based system years ago. That way, as the population becomes older, there would be a corrisponding increase in savings to pay for retirment and healthcare.

It may be too late though, and the pyramid scheme that is currently in place is designed so it only works if the yourger generation continues to be bigger then the previous. That hasnt happened after the baby boomers however. Now unless there is goignt o be a major cut in public benefits for the elderly (which wont happen because they vote in hihger numbers, and it will then hurt them), the younger generation will have a burden placed on them like nothing we have seen in history.

The closest thing we can probably be to a "fix" right now is increases the returment age. It onlt seems fair as peopel live longer now. This will reduce the burden. The second half, woudl be to slowly replace/add savings accounts onto social security and medicare so that savings tart to increase while at the same time we reduce the future burden of the next young generation. Also, then entire health system needs a make over so that we dont have employer based healthcare and instead have individual based. This reduces the overhead costs that are associated with people changing jobs and often times doctors very often. The entire system is only as such because of tax benifits to employers to give health insurance rather then give you more pay. These should be scrapped and the tax benifits shouydl go to individuals. Then employeers would just pay you more (they would rather do that so they dont have to manage health care programs) and you could buy your own, and for poor people have it substidised and a deminishing need based scale.

Also the incentive plans have to be geared towards prevention to keep healthcare demand down. Its a lot cheaper to go to a physical and get blood work done, and then get on a heart medication then wait until you have a heart attack and are int he hospital. State and federal regulations shoudl oosen to allow insurance companies to offer incetives liek they do in car insurance. For instance, if you get a physical, you should get a rate discount. If you don't smoke, you shouyld paty less, and so on. Most of these htings are currently prohibited by law. It would also help to allow stripped down basiic health care packages, so that the people without insurance could at least get some insurance, and this would reduce emergency room visist which are very expensive.

What I see likly happening however, is politicians doing nothing, a bunch of scared old people rallying to defend the status quo who have been prevoked by politicians who want to keep the big government entitlement system the way it is. Then the entire system will blow up in our face a couple of decades from now and the "fix" will be taxes like we have never seen before, so that the younger generation may be the first one in modern history to enjoy a standard of living lower then their parents.

Answer 2

Since medical progress has increased the expected healthy life and most work requires less physical effort than in the past, the obvious solution is to delay the retirement age, so that their will be fewer retirees per worker. When the baby boomers were entering the work force, older workers were encourage to retire to make room for new workers, but this is no longer the case. Already many people are working until they are 70 or older and the trend will continue. Looking at it in financial terms misses the real problem which is the reduction in the number of workers in labor force that can only be solved by later retirement.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Recognizing the right to die might be an option. Although the legislators would have to get off the Jesus juice before that happens...

Answer 5

unfortunately the elders will be responsible for themselves. there is just not enough earning power to give them a free ride on the government dole.