A Brief Introduction to the Baby Boomer Segment
Introduction to the AARP
Public Perceptions and recent issues facing the
organization
The Indian Cultural context
Contrasting the AARP and HelpAge India
A Brief Introduction to the Baby Boomer Segment
About Baby Boomers:
Born between the years 1946 to 1964.
Over 77 million baby boomers alive today
Females making up a slightly larger percentage of the population than men (50.8 percent and
49.2 percent respectively).
In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that baby boomers will turn 60 at the rate of over 7,900
every day and 330 every hour.
In 2030 there is projected to be over 57 million baby boomers between the ages of 66 to 84.
The New Retirement Mindscape :
Courtesy: Harris Interactive, a leading market research firm
Stage 1: Imagination
• 15 - 6 years prior to retirement - Retirement
is still years away
• Very positive views about retirement,
although only 44 percent say they are "on
track" in terms of preparation.
• High expectations of adventure (65 percent)
and
empowerment
(53
percent)
for
retirement.
Stage 2: Anticipation
• 5 years prior to retirement
• Positive emotions are on the rise
• However, in the two years prior to
retirement, worries and anxiety mount a sense
of loss after their working years are over.
• Triggers for retirement readiness were
achieving "financial freedom" (18 percent) or a
significant birthday (16 percent).
Stage 3: Liberation
•
Retirement Day and one year following
• Great excitement, relief and enthusiasm
• “Enjoying retirement a great deal." - 78 percent
• The feeling of liberation is short-lived as the new reality
begins to set in.
Stage 4: Reorientation
• 2-15 years after retirement
• The joy of retirement has passed
• Feelings of emptiness (49 percent), worry (38 percent)
and boredom (34 percent).
• An emotional let-down may occur to varying degrees.
• Four distinct profiles may emerge:
- Empowered Reinventors (19 percent),
- Carefree Contents (19 percent),
- Uncertain Searchers (22 percent) and
- Worried Strugglers (40 percent).
Stage 5: Reconciliation
• 16 or more years after retirement
• increased contentment, acceptance and personal reflection.
• Lower levels of depression (5 percent),
• But some people (22 percent) report feelings of sadness as
they confront end-of-life issues.
The AARP- an introduction into
the organization
AARP was included in the 2004 volume of
America’s Greatest Brands.
AARP is dedicated to enhancing the quality
of life for all as we age.
They claim they lead positive social change
and deliver value to members through
information, advocacy and service.
AARP celebrates the attitude that age is just
a number and life is what you make it.
Provide a host of services to this ever-growing segment of the population by:
Informing members and the public on issues
Advocating on legislative, consumer and legal issues
Promoting community service
Offering a wide range of special products and services to members
Introducing AARP
With over 35 million members, AARP is the leading nonprofit,
nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over
in the United States.
Nearly 12.5 percent of the population are members of the AARP
U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for membership; over 40,000 members live outside the
United States.
People also do not have to be retired to join. In fact, 44 percent of AARP members work part time
or full time.
The median age of AARP members is 65, and slightly more than half of them are women.
History of the Organization
AARP founded in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired
high school principal.
primary purpose of selling health insurance to the elderly.
AARP evolved from the National Retired Teachers
Association (NRTA), which Dr. Andrus had established in
1947 to promote her philosophy of productive aging.
In 1963, Dr. Andrus established the Association of Retired
Persons International (ARPI), with offices in Lausanne,
Switzerland, and Washington, D.C.
While ARPI disbanded in 1969, AARP has continued to
develop networks and form coalitions within the worldwide
aging community.
In 1994 the organization dropped its name (along with the
word retired) in favor of its acronym.
Founding principles of the organization:
•promote independence, dignity and purpose
• enhance the quality of life
• encourage older people "To serve, not to be served"
Membership benefits:
AARP provides a wide range of unique benefits,
special products, and services for their members.
These benefits include:
• AARP Web site
• AARP The Magazine and the AARP Bulletin
• Almost 100 message boards
• Sign up for hundreds of volunteer activities
nationwide - VolunteerMatch.
•Discounts on various travel packages.
• Sign up for alerts about upcoming votes on
congressional legislation and use an online tool to
generate and send an e-mail to your
congressman about an issue.
• AARP already offers dozens of services from
third parties.
e.g. AARP Services is planning to renegotiate a
series of 10-year contracts with 5 health
insurance providers as three- to five-year
deals.
AARP Programs
AARP Independent Living/Long-Term Care/Endof-Life Issue
AARP Driver Safety Program
AARP Tax-Aide
AARP SCSEP (Senior Community Service Employment
Program)
Volunteering
Member Services and Discounts
• Automobile and homeowners insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term health care insurance
• extensive Travel discounts and programs
• Eye health services
• Investment program
• Credit card services
• Motoring plan
• Legal services network
AARP began targeting younger members by:
Going in for an intense image and marketing overhaul
Creating a distinction between baby boomers and the
aged population
Offering relevant products, services and information. For
e.g.. an online calculator to help figure out how much to save
for retirement.
Multiple versions of its magazine for three distinct age groups
Invested more heavily in IT
A few years ago they revamped their entire website to give
it a younger and modern feel.
you can access many of the tools and benefits from the
website
AARP’s Ten year Social Agenda
Economic Security
• Social Security improvements
• Reduced discriminatory treatment
• Ensuring employment and benefits
• Protecting Pensions and retirement savings
• Protection from financial fraud
• Access to affordable, quality utility services
Health and Supportive Services
• Medicare is strengthened
• Prescription drugs are more affordable
• Access to home and community-based care
• access to financing sources for services and
supports
• Appropriate quality services are delivered
efficiently
• Stable and affordable health coverage
Livable Communities
• appropriate and affordable housing
options
• sustain mobility as individuals 50+
age (even when driving is not feasible)
• Individuals retain their driving
competencies and competent drivers
retain their driving privileges.
Navigation—Access to Information
• have access to needed information
and resources
• provide one stop access to needed
information and resources
Global Aging
• AARP is a leading force in
international
understanding
and
dialogues around the global aging
agenda
AARP is a big business
According to its most recent financial statement, the organization collected its revenue of $878 million
through:
$350 million in royalties and other income from the products and services.
$93 million came from advertising
Only 26 percent came from members.
Executive Director and CEO William Novelli has been criticized by some members for taking a $420,000
salary.
Some images from their website
Counterpoints to the projected
image and some Public
Perceptions
Criticism against the AARP:
Membership figures are not realistic
As they seek out anyone over the age of 50 and try and add them to their list of members.
“Dear Robert J. Samuelson,
Our records show that you haven't yet registered for the benefits of AARP
membership, even though you are fully eligible. . . . I look forward to your joining us.
Sincerely, William D. Novelli, Executive Director”
Massive outlays threaten huge tax increases and other government spending.
Both may weaken the economy and the social fabric. AARP expects younger taxpayers to bear
most of the burden.
Uses Federal dollars to fund its own agenda and influence public policy
stirs considerable anger among many taxpayers, and not just those who oppose its politics.
AARP was nothing more than an ally of convenience
Flip flop in support of the democratic and republican policies.
Its leaders do what is best for AARP, rather than for its members.
- The reliance on supplier revenue has frequently left the organization open to these charges
- In June 2001, Novelli centralized policy making by limiting input from local AARP.
- At the same time, Novelli severed the accountability of AARP's board to the membership.
Criticism against the AARP: (Cont.)
Use of manipulative polls and inaccurate ads
needlessly frighten the public about the merits of reform raises serious questions about its
tactics.
Lot of clout for a private organization
Many feel that aside from the president, only AARP can set the terms of debate on federal
retirement programs (mainly Social Security, Medicare and long-term care through Medicaid)
Not much success with the issue of effective health care
Several decades of loud calls for a more efficient and effective health care system haven't yet
created one.
People who ruffle too many feathers are leaving or are not invited back into leadership roles.
In April 1995, an investigation into AARP's finances was launched, including its receipt of
government grants.
The cultural context of aging in
India
By the year 2000, India is likely to rank
second to China in the absolute numbers
of its elderly population
• The sharp decline in mortality since 1950 and
a steady recent decline in fertility has
contributed to the process of population aging
in India.
• India currently ranks fourth among the
countries of the world with a large elderly
population.
•Owing to changes in kinship and family
organization in the wake of urbanization,
industrialization and modernization this
portion of India’s population is getting
attention.
• The joint family system, which used to
provide a form of social security, is
disintegrating. Even in the villages where
approximately
three-fourths
of
India’s
population live and where the process of
change has been slow, changes have been
taking place which are not favorable to the
elderly.
POINTS OF REFERENCE FOR THIS SEGEMNT OF
THE POPULATION
Sex Ratio
Unlike the trend in most countries, there are more
males than females in the elderly population. The
usual sex ratio pattern favoring females occurs at 70 or
more years of age in the case of India.
Marital status
A fairly large proportion of the elderly population is
single owing to the death of the marriage partner.
The incidence of widowhood is much greater among
females than among males owing partly to the
comparatively
higher expectation of life among the older females and
partly due to taboos against remarriage, particularly of
females.
Literacy
Historically, illiteracy was more prevalent among
elderly females than elderly males. In 2001
approximately 52 per cent of elderly males and 83 per
cent elderly females were illiterate.
The majority of the illiterate elderly were engaged either
in agricultural pursuits in the rural areas or as unskilled
or semiskilled workers in urban areas, many of whom
most likely were living from hand to mouth with little or
no savings. Since their employment was in the
unorganized sectors, they would not be covered by
social insurance schemes and thus would be in need of
economic support. In the absence of support from their
relatives, they would have to look towards the
Government for support.
Rural vs. Urban
Different parts of the county are experiencing
varying degrees of socio-economic change. Urban
and Rural Environments present contrasting pictures with
respect to quality of life at any age.
The number of elderly, both in absolute and percentage
terms, is larger in the rural areas of India than in
urban areas. At the time of the 1981 Census, 80.4
percent of the elderly population lived in rural areas. In
1961, the percentage of elderly males in rural areas was
5.7 percent, while their proportion in urban areas was 4.4
percent.
Similarly the proportion of elderly females was greater in
rural areas than in the urban areas.
The Elderly in Urban India
The Elderly in Rural India
Working elderly
one positive feature concerning the elderly population is
that most of those 60 or more years old are economically
active, presumably because they are engaged in sectors
for which there is no specific age of retirement.
Since 1961, there has been a gradual decline in the
labor force participation rate among the elderly in rural
and urban areas, the decline being steeper among males
than females.
The majority of elderly workers were engaged in
agriculture. Modernization of agriculture in the future
(which would require fewer workers than currently)
accompanied by increases in the number of young adults
seeking employment are factors likely to affect adversely
future job opportunities for the elderly. Therefore, planning in
respect of future employment opportunities for the elderly is
needed urgently before this problem grows to unmanageable
proportions.
Non-working elderly
About 72 per cent of the elderly population were not
working in 2001; in absolute numbers, this portion
of the population was about a total of about 55 million, 69
per cent of whom were from rural areas and 62.8 per cent of
whom were female.
Health status of the elderly
There were around 27 million elderly people ill at any
given point of time in 2001.
In addition, 7.4 per cent of the elderly population in
rural areas and 7.9 per cent of those in urban areas
were suffering from a chronic disease, the incidence
being higher among males in rural and urban areas
Currently, elderly people avail themselves of general
medical and health services; no concerted effort has been
made to provide geriatric medical care. However, there is
an urgent need for specialists catering for the elderly.
Physical Disabilities
According to figures from 1981, 10.9 per cent of the
elderly
population
suffered
from
physical
impairments. Approximately half of those affected were
visually disabled. The remaining half were suffering from
disabilities related to hearing, speech or loco motor
functions.
The number of aged persons in 2001 who suffered from
some type of disability, was about 8.2 million
approximately.
These people were dependent either on their families or
charitable institutions and in the absence of such support,
they look to the Government for assistance.
Age Composition of the Elderly
The age composition of the population of India has been undergoing change; At the turn of this century, the
number of persons aged 60 years and over was 12.1 million. Of these, 5.5 million were males and 6.6
million were females.
Through 1931, the growth of the Elderly population was steady, but during the 1931-1941 period the number
of elderly people rose sharply.
Thereafter, especially since 1961, there has been a pronounced increase in the population of elderly
persons.
Their numbers in 1981, were slightly less than 4 times the number in 1901.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
OF AGING IN INDIA:
• Reverence to old age in India is expressed in
cultural and social practices, such as the obligation to
offer prayers to one’s ancestors.
• In India, the aged prefer to live with their children.
• The family cares for its aged by providing physical,
social, and economic support for the elderly.
• Sons, consider it their duty to look after their aged
parents, and they do not allow them to be sent to oldage homes.
•The joint family is the basic family type in India,
where parents live with one or more of their children. This
family system is the predominant household form in rural
areas, in the slums and to a certain extent even in the
urban areas.
• But when the elderly do not have family members
to take care of them, old-age homes are their last
resort. However, the demand for spaces in these homes
far exceeds supply.
• Though the number of nuclear families is growing, they
continue to have connections with the central
households from which they have separated.
• Living with children is
arrangement for the aged.
the
preferred
living
Scenario in Rural India
•The joint family system is still strong in rural areas.
• Older members of the family are actively engaged in
work until they are incapable of doing so, but as an
integral part of the household, they are provided with
shelter, food and clothing by the family.
• In case of a split of the joint family, the old person
is taken care of by one son or another.
Scenario in Urban India
• The tradition of caring for elderly
members endures even in urban areas.
family
• However, due to urbanization, industrialization and
migration, the traditional joint family structure is
changing; but mutual exchange between generations is
still the rule, and the family is still the source of
security for the aged persons.
• The sons consider it their duty to look after their
aged parents and do not allow them to be sent to oldage homes.
Traditional Concept of Aging in Indian Culture
In Ancient India, lifespan on 100 years was divided into four
stages: life as a student, house holder, forest dweller and
Ascetic.
There was a gradual move from personal, social to
spiritual preoccupations with age.
When a man’s hair turned gray and wrinkles appeared, he was
to give up his life of a householder and turn to ‘vanaprastha’
which literally means ‘moving to the forest’. A mature aging
man would gradually give up his worldly pursuits, move away
from the mundane routine of the householder and turn inward
in search of spiritual growth.
In ordinary social intercourse, a person would be considered
old when his children were married and he had grandchildren,
regardless of his chronological age. Menopause and arrival of
grandchildren usually marked old-age for Women.
Indian culture, like many other Asian cultures, emphasized
filial piety. Parents were to be respected as gods. It was the
duty of the son to respect and care for his parents. Living with
the eldest son and his family was the most common living
arrangement.
Indian society is a patriarchal society and after marriage the
sons bring their wives to live in the parental household. This
tradition ensured old people would have young people around
them to take care of them.
Also, caste and kin group exerted pressure on the young to
respect and take care of their elders.
Family and relatives still play an important role in providing economic and social security for
the elderly. But most of these studies relate to the middle and higher socioeconomic classes where
the elderly own the means of production and have sufficient economic resources not to be affected
adversely. Those in the lower levels of the social strata, who constitute the majority, will need social
and economic support.
The elderly who worked in the organized sectors during their careers have been and are
covered by social insurance schemes such as pensions, gratuities, leave encashment and provident
fund disbursements made upon their retirement. They cover approximately 11 per cent the
population, who are likely to be economically better off compared with those who worked in the
unorganized sectors; the latter constitute around 89 per cent of the elderly population.
Since most worked in the unorganized sectors, the vast majority of the elderly probably
worked for low wages and thus have little or no savings to enable them to meet their oldage needs.
The elderly should be considered as human resources and their rich experience and residual
capacities should be put to optimum use for the benefit of national development. Their
ability to lead healthy and fruitful lives should be ensured by the Government.
Social Status of Older Indian in the Current Context:
• General lowering of social status of the Elderly in India
• Increasingly perceived as burdens due to disability or
dependence
• Rapid changes in family systems reducing availability of
kin support even in rural areas.
• With Modernization, older values are being replaced by
‘Individualism’.
• The government has been complacent that the jointfamily system and traditional values would provide the social
security cover in old age. This view is being drastically revised
• In non-agrarian societies, older persons who are
‘economically unproductive’ do not have the same
authority as they used to enjoy in extended families, where
they had greater control over family resources.
• Efforts are being made to revive the cultural values and
reinforce the traditional practice of interdependence
amongst generations.
• It is neither desirable nor affordable to open a large
number of Old-age homes in a country like India.
• Thus reinforcing the existing ‘Familism’ maybe the only
feasible option.
OLD AGE HOMES:
• Majority of the aged population shares the homes of their children
• The remaining aged population of 12,758,610 (30 percent) either have no family or can not
live with the family they have.
• For this group, old-age homes are a necessity.
• India presently has 356 old-age homes.
• Most of these homes are secular, and they provide accommodation for the needy aged men and
women irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.
• 258 of these homes have a capacity of only 15,636 spaces for the elderly serving a population
of 12 million who would/could benefit from them.
• 123 homes in which only bed-ridden elderly who need constant care are admitted.
• 54 old age homes are exclusively for women.
• There are three types of old-age homes:
- free of charge
- purely pay-and-stay
- homes that accommodate both paying and nonpaying residents
• 163 old-age homes(63%) are for the destitute elderly providing food, clothing and medical
aid free of charge. Shelter is given to them until their death, and these homes arrange for a
decent funeral.
• Most of these homes are public charities, funded through donations from individuals,
contributions from organizations, collections from religious groups and resident fees.
Only a negligible few get funding from government grants or assistance from any other funding
agency.
Government Policy for the Elderly:
• Much progress has been made in the quality
and quantity of health care services in India in
the past fifty years.
• However, improvements have been uneven
with Urban areas getting the best advantages of
modern technological advances in Medicare.
• the Government which is already grappling with
a number of pressing problems, does not have
adequate resources to address the issue.
• For more than a decade, several individuals and
Organizations working with older people have
been pressing the government to introduce a
national policy for their welfare.
• Several Draft proposals have already been
submitted.
• The Employees' Pension Scheme, which
promises defined Benefits to employees after
retirement as long as they or their widows live, is
unsustainable in its current form.
• The needs of the elderly, elder-care issues, State vs. family care, elder abuse, interventional and action
plan research are some areas that need accentuation.
• Documentation of data, creation of databases, and a national body for overseeing research are
requirements that cannot be delayed any longer.
The cultural context of aging in India
In India, family ties still hold together families to
a large extent.
Respect for Elders and supporting them in their
old age are strong core values of the family system.
Traditionally old age is seen as almost synonymous
of wisdom.
Even with the advent of nuclear families, children
still support their parents financially at least to
some extent. They might also be able to support
themselves on their employment pension.
The spending power and discretionary dollars of
their American counterpart may not be present.
Incidents of people living in old age homes or
communities is still very rare. There is almost a
stigma attached to it- almost of somebody having
been abandoned by their family.
With the changing dynamics of the family system in India, it is
difficult to predict how it would effect the aging Indian.
Policy changes to benefit this section of the population are certainly
needed
But in today’s context, translating an organization such as
AARP into the local context would be extremely challenging.
•Familiarization with the traditional family systems is very
important before there could be any adaptation in the Indian
scenario.
• With so much poverty, a large section of the population may
never be inclined to join an organization like this. This could
be because of the cost to join, or simply for the lack of
awareness.
• There may be a distrust of an international organization
coming in to try and provide benefits to them, especially with this
generation.
• Also, people are still private about personal issues and
issues pertaining to family – it might be difficult to get people to
participate or even take membership.
The Medybiz Example: Cure guilt online
• Bangalore-based Medybiz.com's strategy is that NRIs
(Non Resident Indians) will be able assuage their guilt
over being away and take care of aged parents in
India over the Net.
• A healthcare "card" that offspring can buy for their
parents (or dependents) in India for something
nominal, like $30 or so, and pay for other services by
use.
• The card will ensure that the dependents get endto-end services - from organizing a car to take them
to the doctor and drop them back home, fixing
appointments, diagnostic tests, getting hospital
admission, to finally posting the reports on the Net for
the relatives to view.
• For the Local Market, they have tied up with drug
manufacturers, doctors, hospitals, labs and can
place orders for medicines, fix appointments with
doctors and labs and get hospital admissions all on the
Net, saving a great deal of time and bother.
• The customer for his part, only needs to make a
phone call or send an e-mail, quote his/her card
number and make a request.
• There are around 500 people calling in everyday
and the company has 28,000 customers.
• The facility is available in six cities: Bangalore,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmadabad.
There many government organizations and
private NGO’s already working on the needs of
the aging population such as:
Governmental Organizations
Employees State Insurance Corporation
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Non-Governmental Organizations
Ageing Research Foundation of India
Dignity Foundation
HelpAge India
Indian Council of Medical Research
Institute of Economic Growth
International Institute for Population Studies
Senior Indian
Contrasting the two Organizations
- AARP and HelpAge India
The AARP and HelpAge India both work on very
different scales
They also cater to very different needs of the same
target audience in very different
Cultural
Environments and differing Constraints.
The AARP is a powerful lobby backed by strong
Governmental regulations to back it and the needs its
members.
Whereas the HelpAge India Foundation is striving to
bring attention to the needs of the elderly in India
with limited support from the Government and
absence of proper regulations.
The aged in the United States have a system of Social
Security to aid them in their old age. Whereas this
system is absent to the elderly in India.
The advantage the Aged in India have is the strong
Socio-Cultural support system from their families
which strongly support them both financially and
emotionally.