Precarity and the assumption of rising insecurity in later life: a critique

Abstract

In recent years, several authors have drawn attention to signs of growing inequalities in the ageing populations of the developed economies. Such formulations have employed the concept of precariousness to suggest that a ‘new’ precarity has emerged in old age. Questioning this position and drawing on data reported over the last two decades on income and health inequalities between and within retired and working-age households, the present paper argues that evidence of this ‘precarity’ is speculative at most and relates more to imagined futures than to empirically observed trends in the present. The ageing of ageing societies – that is the growing agedness of the older population – might imply an increase in precarity or vulnerability at older ages, but this is not a result of changes in the underlying economic and social relations of society. Instead, we would contend that it is the corporeal consequences of living longer. By conflating the various meanings of ‘precarity’ there is a corresponding danger that the very real changes brought about by population ageing will be underplayed, which may be to the detriment of the most vulnerable. The idea of a new precarity in later life may thus not serve the ends to which it is intended.

‘Sometimes you gotta get out of your comfort zone’: retirement migration and active ageing in Cuenca, Ecuador

“…1It is important to acknowledge, as Gilleard and Higgs (2020) note, that income inequality decreases amongst retirement-age populations relative to later-life workers, because older workers gain access to benefits programmes and pensions. As austerity programmes seek to extend the working life and delay provision of benefits, however, these inequalities are worsening for older adults in the workforce.…”

“…It is important to acknowledge, asGilleard and Higgs (2020) note, that income inequality decreases amongst retirement-age populations relative to later-life workers, because older workers gain access to…”

“…As austerity programmes seek to extend the working life and delay provision of benefits, however, these inequalities are worsening for older adults in the workforce. Moreover, Gilleard and Higgs (2020) note that inequalities amongst older households are increasing. These increasing inequalities occur as status hierarchies in the third age are realigned with respect to narratives of active and successful ageing, against which older adults define and measure themselves (Rudman, 2006).…”

A Divided Old Age through Research on Digital Technologies

“…This concept has recently stimulated criticisms. According to some scholars, inequalities in later life primarily result from structural mechanisms operating over the life course of individuals, and there is not yet sufficient evidence that they are aggravated by restructured social systems (Gilleard and Higgs, 2020).…”

‘I'm going to live my life for me’: trans ageing, care, and older trans and gender non-conforming adults’ expectations of and concerns for later life

“…One other concept relevant to our discussion is the notion of precarity in later life that is currently the subject of discussion and debate in social gerontology (Grenier and Phillipson, 2018; Gilleard and Higgs, 2020). The notion of precarity brings attention to the inequalities and sources of exclusion and marginality older people increasingly experience in ageing societies, stemming from wider trends of growing economic and social inequality (Grenier et al ., in press).…”