ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the changing roles of families and the state in providing care and support to infirm older parents. It focuses on the support and care of the elderly since increasing lifespans mean that most of us will eventually face the necessity of making decisions concerning an older parent's care. The chapter examines the collectivization or socialization of the financial support of the elderly through Social Security and other state-sponsored programs. It elaborates how pensions, and the expectation that the state bears the primary responsibility for the support of aging parents, has radically altered the nature of the pact between generations. The chapter investigates the ways in which changes in the sources of intergenerational solidarity in the family might affect social solidarity more generally. Furthermore, it discusses the potential individual and family implications of this re-individualization of responsibility for one's old-age financial security.
