ABSTRACT

The purpose of this chapter is to address the question of whether the demographic changes that have produced an ageing population affect the social position of elderly people vis-à-vis other groups in modern Western society. The discussion of inequality and old age can thus be furthered by considering issues of numbers and equity. As can be seen from previous chapters, many of the key debates about the current and future condition of elderly people in modern Western society centre on the functioning and future of the welfare state, and in particular on issues about pensions. Pensions are of essential importance when considering old age inequalities. They are central to the material inequalities of old age; for many people in the industrialized world they are the sole means of keeping body and soul together. Culturally they are significant in establishing social definitions of old age and the process by which people internalize a sense of being old. The question of pensions is becoming increasingly sensitive as numbers of academics and politicians query the possibility of sustaining, let alone improving, levels of pensions provision in the face of demographic change and an ageing population (Smeeding 1991). In the final part of this chapter, I will consider if the current debates on the future of pensions’ systems constitute a threat to the status of elderly people.