Essay Sample on Aging Population: Impacts, Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction

Aging population refers to the variations in the composition of population whereby there is a rise in the portion of older people. The society is undergoing an unprecedented demographic change based on this population, as a result of the coming constraints on the future social security and Medicare services regarding an aging population, policymakers are anxious and preoccupied. Besides, there are important roles that aging population essentially play in society, and hence, it is not just viewed as a burden to society and but also an essential factor. This stress is redirecting the attention from the important issues such as productivity and development of human capital. This paper discusses the future of society regarding the aging population.

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An aging population leads to a great challenge in policy making, government tax, labor market, and government expenditure. This population generates enormous effects on the various aspects of society, including social, economic, and cultural factors. An increase in life expectancy and a decline in the rates of a newborn in the society has caused many worries on the effects of the aging population (Drucker, 2017). There have been rending news regarding the population structure of the future generations and demographic time bomb. An increase in the aging population leads to an imbalance in the economic progress as the future generations will struggle in to meet the requirements posed by an increasingly aging population. Retired workers and an increase in pension commitments are the major cases of these constraints. The society will suffer from an increase in the dependency ratio; the expenditure on pension programs is a burden to the working population. Provision of healthcare services for the aging population tends to increase government expenditure, and a result it will cause constraints because the aging population generates less revenue. This population could lead to a shortage of human resource in the economy, shortage of employees negatively affects the growth of the economy in the society, it leads to wage inflation.

Among other impacts of the aging population in the society are the system imbalance and environmental conservation. Aging population increases the portion of the inactive population in the society; it also results in the shortage of population as a result of decreased birth rate. Migration output and low rates of fertility are the common=n features of an aging population; this will cause a negative development as well as a failure in the population system. The management of the land, economic, and social development calls for the need of a young population, it makes it difficult to have a sustainable future without young population. Breakdown in social and economic growth rates raises doubts in the sustainability of future developments. The face of the demographic is about to change in terms of age structure. An increase in life expectancy and a reduction in the retirement age causes a significant challenge in socio-economic progress (Bengtson, 2018). The future generation will suffer from the pressure of supporting an increase in an aging society. These responsibilities fall to the hands of their children. The organization of the working conditions and labor-force input are the core factors influenced by the aging society.

Besides, the aging population has an important role to play in society; the future depends on the skills and experiences this population possesses. The elderly have lived through various social and economic constraints, and their experiences are necessary for shaping future progress in society (He, Goodkind, & Kowal, 2016). Aging population positively contributes to financial planning and workplace. Many of the older people contribute to the economy by taking part in domestic duties such as childcare activities to enable the working population to actively take part in the growth of the economy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the aging population affects the future of society positively and negatively. Society undergoes various challenges to sustain this population, especially when the retirement age is low. Healthcare and pension funds fall on the hands of the working population leading to more constraints in the growth of the economy. However, those who are working can lead to quality and better services as a result of their experience and skills.

References

Bengtson, V. (2018). Global aging and challenges to families. Routledge.

Drucker, P. (2017). The age of discontinuity: Guidelines to our changing society. Routledge.

He, W., Goodkind, D., & Kowal, P. R. (2016). An aging world: 2015 (pp. 1-165). Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau.