In the developed world, average life expectancy is increasing. What problems will this cause for individuals and society? Suggest some measures that could be taken to reduce the impact of ageing populations.

It is important to consider the issues caused by the rising life expectancy in the developed world on the societies and their citizens.

This

essay will explore the problems arising due to

this

trend and suggest some possible solutions to mitigate them. Looking

firstly

at the individuals, one major problem is that it is likely for the aged to suffer from lack of finances.

This

is because these people may no longer be working and have to depend on the government's pension or their families to sustain their lives.

For example

, a man who starts working at age 20, retires at 60 and lives to be 100 will have worked only for two fifths of his life. To combat

this

issue authorities can increase the retirement age of a person.

This

could result in more of these people retiring late,

thus

saving enough to be financially secure and independent. As for the societies, one of the pressing issues is that it could increase the burden on the governments to take care of the finances of the retired people. The reason for

this

is that the authorities need to pay out pensions to these people who may not be able to survive without support.

This

results in tax payers money being wasted

instead

of investing it wisely on technology and other valuable resources. In order to handle

this

problem governments need to create more jobs and encourage the elders to work,

therefore

leading to increased economic stability of the nation through more taxes collected from the newly employed. In conclusion, two of the significant problems created by the increase in lifespan of the developed world on the individuals and society are lack of money and wastage of societies taxes. The governments should address these issues by increasing the age of retirement and creating new employment opportunities.