People are working longer – out of necessity and choice – as the world undergoes one of the biggest demographic shifts in history. By Mark Trumbull, / Staff writer / January 16, 2011 BOSTON When business conditions in Japan forced him to close his small rice shop at age 63, Yasunori Izumi didn't take the event as a cue to retire. Instead, prompted by concern about covering expenses, he found a new job as a taxi driver – and plans to keep at it for years to come.  In Britain, postal carrier Kevin Beazer is just 45 years old, but he's already looking warily at his financial future. He's seen his expected pension pared back – reflecting a fiscal squeeze that's sweeping through Europe – and figures he'll need a part-time job after he retires.
In coastal Alabama, Donna Gainey is still working at age 64, but not out of financial necessity. She simply loves her job as a city clerk and the extra income it provides. IN PICTURES: WORLD PENSIONS Around the globe, from developed Europe to fast-rising China, a common trend is emerging: The workforce is taking on an older profile as retirement is delayed or redefined. A global recession has helped to accelerate the trend, by putting pressure on many people over age 55 to keep working if they can. But the real impetus behind an aging workforce is demographic. People are living longer. Older people are also becoming a larger share of the population in many nations, simply because of declining birth rates and shrinking ranks of young people. |
Why does a country that esteems older people now see them begging at traffic lights? Why does a society built around strong and extended family ties regularly find abandoned older people on the doorstep of the largest facility for older people? The seeming contradiction begs for an explanation. For some, globalization and western influences have led to the weakening of cultural values. The analysis determines the alternative and cultural proponents seek to reinforce the culture. While a worthwhile undertaking, the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE) believes structural, more than cultural factors will increasingly strain traditional care for older persons.
