Aging Population and Its Effects on Job Market, Healthcare - Research Paper Example

Aging Population and Its Effects on Job Market, Healthcare, and Social Security Introduction The aging process should be viewed through a positive lens. However, it brings with it problems at familial, communal and national level. The ability of various nations to provide for the older citizens has been in question for a long time. The trend of increasing old age groups implies there are changes in personal needs that must be embraced. The older people, as opposed to the younger members of the society, require far much attention regarding welfare. Many countries have policies and programs in place to sustain the increasing number of aging populations. Such policies include the provision of proper health care services, developing social security schemes and creating mitigation measures to ensure that gaps do not occur in the job market. These measures are essential for the growth and sustainability of any economy. This paper explores widely the issue of aging population and its implication toward job market, healthcare and social security. Part one Analysis Population aging is a problem of the future, as noted by Michaelis and Debus (2010). There is the likelihood that the elderly groups will double by 2050. There is a compelling need to ensure that people grow old with dignity and security. The old generation needs to participate in social life just like other citizens with full rights. Rights accorded to the senior citizens should not be inconsistent with other groups so that a reciprocal intergenerational relationship is encouraged. Aging has a direct impact on the job market, given that improved life expectancy will influence someone's decision to remain employed (Michaelis & Debus, 2010). Job Market The aging process is strongly linked to changes in income and earnings of persons nearing retirement age. Several factors have been proposed to influence the labor force decisions of older people as compared to the younger generation. Such factors include changing preferences for leisure, deteriorating health conditions and constraints in demand concerning the availability of part-time employment opportunities in semi-retirement. The old age is seen to be less responsive to changes at the workplace. Employers are also unlikely to hire older people or sustain them for long at workplaces. The change in priorities of both aged working group and employers is more likely to cause shortages in the labor market. For example, in the medical profession there is a large number of aging professionals who opt to retire. These decisions create a vacancy and lack of smooth transition in places of work (Lisenkova, Mérette & Wright, 2013). Health Sector Aging process affects the budget allocation in many countries. In light of this, the government expenditure on health takes a large part of the budget. Supply of health workers is bound to reduce as most of them will retire and reduce their working hours. With the increased numbers of senior citizens in the society, and their vulnerability to infections and diseases, the budgetary allocation to the health sector is likely to rise. The phenomenon of population aging is strongly associated to health transition that is characterized by reduced rates of fertility and transition from contagious diseases to non-contagious ones as well as chronic health conditions. The increased prevalence of exposure by the aged people to diseases; means they are most likely to demand a lot out of health care services. The government has no option but to embark on preventive strategies of the illnesses and improvement of the quality of life (Timonen, 2008). Social Security Social security is not spared of the emerging increasing trend in numbers of old members of the society. Vettori (2010) notes that the inflated number of the aging population will affect the social security systems in two major ways: The beneficiaries will be many and that they are likely to demand benefits over a longer time frame. In some countries, the retirement age is statutory set yet some people retire earlier to take advantage of the incentives allocated by the government. The influx put a lot of pressure on the social pension schemes. The schemes work best under certain conditions like the stability of the beneficiaries and contributors numbers. The elevated and increasing number of aging people is hence detrimental (Vettori, 2010). It is prudent to note that older people who choose to remain in the job market and postpone their retirement, generate a lot of income that helps in financing the pension schemes. It is clear then that they will not join the beneficiary’s domain early enough to put pressure on the social security schemes. The numerical comparison between the productive and dependent age group in the society is likely to reduce. The effects of the age structure of the society are, therefore, not felt great. The number of people in the productive age likely to look after the aged also reduces tremendously. The economic effects are better as more hours are spent in economically viable duties. Part two Application and Recommendations Job Market Measures and regulations are to be taken to curb the challenges that come with old age. Such measures and policies will ensure a smooth transition is evident in the society and economy. The drawbacks of population aging go hand in hand with rates of economic growth and rates of job market participation. Significant strategies have to be put in place to regulate the issue of early retirement, employer attitude about the aged and ageing workforce and also the attitudes and behaviors of the ageing population. Deficits in the job market will be reduced and contained, so that experienced workforce will not quit the job at an earlier age. Awareness creation about the scope of the job market and aging process needs to be highlighted comprehensively to sustain economic growth (Sylvest, Gelderblom & Jong, 2014). Health Care A comprehensive assessment of the wider trends in the healthcare workforce and the aging of the population help to highlight important areas for policy improvement. There should be a well-developed framework to ensure allocation of funds to the kitty of the old generation. This includes issues of lack of diversity among health professionals, forecasted shortages, and better data management to monitor the supply and demand of health professionals needed to take care of older people in the society. The prospected changes in the demographic changes are more likely to transform the health sector. There is the need to analyze all the existing health requirements, conditions and challenges as a form of control measure by the economy. Expansion of health facilities to accommodate the growing demand for services by the old generation should be responded to adequately. Social Security The danger imposed by pressure on the social security schemes is that younger individuals will be exposed to more responsibilities and financial load. Therefore, there should be a good synchronization in the process to provide the social schemes and at the same time cushion the younger age groups from the unbearable load. There is concern about the high number of people reaching the retirement age as compared to the actively working individuals. Consideration has to be put on demographic factors while designing the social security schemes in the economy. Stringent measures and penalties also are to be imposed on people opting to take advantage of the retirement incentives, and go for earlier retirement. This is likely to reduce the number of beneficiaries and in effect increase the size of active individuals contributing to the social scheme fund. Hence, pressure on the social schemes is greatly reduced. A state of equilibrium is thus attained by various factors of the economy (McKinnon, 2009). Social security systems are a necessity both socially and economically. Therefore, such wide-range modifications in financial systems raise the challenges of political and economic options that are not cheap to resolve. Therefore, there should be wider consultation with all sectors of the economy to reconcile all the divergent views and opinions of all the interested parties. The drawbacks are beyond the mere changes in the social structure. It is better looked at through redefinition of objectives and appropriate instruments; in this scenario various complementary institutions can be incorporated to achieve the goal of social security effectively (Michaelis & Debus, 2010). Conclusion Ageing process as seen above is a fundamental process that cannot be underestimated. This is because of the economic consequences attached to it. Due to the vulnerabilities the senior citizens are exposed to, they need special care and attention. Policies and programs are to be developed to ensure the phenomenon is handled accordingly. There is sufficient connection between ageing process, social security, job market and health care provision. For example, social security schemes have been set aside to provide for the welfare of the aged people after retirement. Abuse of privileges has been witnessed in cases where the ageing population opts to go for earlier retirement so that they can enjoy the privileges. This causes a lot of pressure to the social security schemes. First, there are escalated numbers of beneficiaries but fewer contributors. There are some recommendations suggested to help reduce the number of challenges facing the various sectors affected by the age population. Sufficient implementation of the suggestions is critical to ensuring the issue is addressed fully (Lisenkova, Mérette & Wright, 2013). References Lisenkova, K., Mérette, M., & Wright, R. (2013). Population ageing and the labor market: Modeling size and age-specific effects. Economic Modeling, 35, 981-989. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2013.09.007 McKinnon, R. (2009). Promoting the concept of prevention in social security: issues and challenges for the International Social Security Association 1. International Journal of Social Welfare, 19(4), 455-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2009.00692.x McKinnon, R. (2010). An ageing workforce and strategic human resource management: Staffing challenges for social security administrations. International Social Security Review, 63(3-4), 91-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-246x.2010.01371.x Michaelis, J., & Debus, M. (2010). Wage and (un-)employment effects of an ageing workforce. Journal of Population Economics, 24(4), 1493-1511. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00148-010-0325-9 Sylvest, J., Gelderblom, A., & Jong, M. (2014). NMP research and the ageing challenge. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Timonen, V. (2008). Ageing societies. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press. Vettori, S. (2010). Ageing populations and changing labor markets. Farnham, England: Gower Pub. Read More