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Welfare programs protect people from
Loss of income due to unemployment, disability, divorce, poor health, or retirement
Classification of welfare programs
Public assistance programs, social insurance programs, fiscal welfare
Public assistance programs
Minimal benefits, means-tested
Social insurance programs
Earned entitlement, funded by payroll taxes
Fiscal welfare
Tax expenditures - indirect government support through the tax system
ex. employer health insurance, retirement savings
Main purpose of social insurance programs
To provide economic security through shared risk (everyone contributes and earns protection)
How social insurance benefits are paid
Payroll taxes from workers and employers
Where Social Security benefits went in 2010
Major sources of income for people 65 + in 2010 were Social Security, earnings, pensions, assets, and public assistance
Most important source of income for elderly
Social security
Why SSI doesn’t protect the poorest elderly
SSI provides minimal income and often fails to cover living costs despite targeting the very poor
Highest benefit of Social Security
Determined by work history and lifetime earnings—those who worked longer and earned more receive higher benefits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Federal program (funded by general tax revenues) for aged, blind, or disabled with very low income
Medicare part A
Hospital insurance (inpatient care)
Medicare part B
Physician/outpatient care
Medicare part C
Medicare Advantage (private plan option)
Medicare part D
Prescription drug coverage
Medicare Modernization Act of 2003
Created Part D (prescription drugs) and expanded private plan options (Medicare Advantage)
What encourages employers to provide health insurance
Tax incentives (part of fiscal welfare)
Disability Insurance benefits
Part of Social Security, provides income to workers who can’t work due to disability
Main source of public funding for long-term care
Medicaid (pays for custodial nursing home care)
OAA (Older Americans Act)
Provides community-based services (meals, day care, personal/nursing care, Meals on Wheels)
Problem with private long-term care insurance
Lack of regulation, high cost, limited acceptance of unhealthy applicants
Section 8
Housing subsidy program that helps low-income people pay rent or access affordable housing
Aging theories
Wear and tear
Somatic mutation
Autoimmune
Cross-linkage
Free radical
Genetic control
Wear and tear
Body “wears out” like a machine
Somatic mutation
DNA mutations accumulate over time
Autoimmune
Body attacks its own tissues
Cross-linkage
Collagen cross-links cause stiffness and wrinkles
Free radical
Unstable molecules from metabolism that damage cells, causing aging, but antioxidants help
Genetic control
Life span is programmed in genes
Active life expectancy
Years a person can expect to live without disability
Lentigo spots
Brown age spots on face, hands, forearms
Senile purpura
Purple bruiselike spots from ruptured fragile blood vessels
ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)
Basic self-care tasks (eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, moving)
Nerves in the peripheral nervous system
Decline causes slower reflexes and movement; loss of nerve cells leads to slowness and stiffness
Loss of cells in cerebellum
Impairs balance and coordination, increasing fall risk
Aging and sleep
Older adults sleep less deeply and wake more often
Aging and driving
Slower reaction times and reduced vision affect driving ability
Cataracts
Clouding of the eye’s lens, causing blurred vision; treatable with surgery
Aging and body temperature
Decreased ability to regulate heat due to loss of insulating fat
Most cited reason for disability in older adults
Arthritis
Climacteric
Period of reproductive change in women leading to menopause
Average age menopause occurs
Around 50 years old
Hormone replacement therapy
Treats menopausal symptoms but carries health risks
Aging and blood pressure
Blood vessels lose elasticity, causing hypertension
Study of mental processes
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive functioning
Changes in how older adults process, store, and recall information
Fluid intelligence
Problem-solving, adapting to new situations—declines with age
Crystallized Intelligence
Accumulated knowledge and experience—remains stable or improves
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Temporary failure to recall a word or name; common in aging
Long-term memory
Permanent storage of repeated experiences and skills
Classic aging pattern
Decline in fluid (performance) intelligence but stability in crystallized (verbal) intelligence
Alzheimer’s disease
Gradual brain deterioration causing memory loss, confusion, personality change
Causes of Alzheimer’s (theories)
Genetic predisposition, environmental factors (stress, nutrition)
Symptoms of clinical depression
Persistent sadness, loss of interest, appetite/sleep changes, fatigue, guilt, suicidal thoughts
Stroke
Brain damage due to blocked or ruptured blood vessel; causes loss of speech, movement, or function
Personality traits and temperament
Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness
Vascular dementia
Brain damage from small strokes due to clogged arteries (atherosclerosis)
Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life
Age 30 Transition: establish career, competence.
Midlife (40s): reassess goals and priorities, often shift from career to family focus