In today’s world, average life expectancy is rising. There are several specific problems in this situation, but there are also many solutions that can be taken to solve them.
There are some problems with increasing life expectancy for individuals and society. The first individual problem is financial pressure such as living costs and pension. For example, if people’s life is longer, their pension duration will extend.Therefore, there are financial problems with the government’s budget. The second individual problem is social isolation means that older people may face loneliness as peers pass away or family is busy. For instance, if their wife or husband passes away and their family is at work, they will be bored and not get the pleasure of life. Finally, one of the social problems is the healthcare burden. For instance, more elderly people require long-term care, hospital services and specialized treatments. Consequently, hospitals will be overcrowded and there will be no room for emergency patients.
Fortunately, there are a number of solutions to address the problems. Firstly, a simple solution would be to increase the retirement age from sixty five to seventy. These days, people of this age are healthy and they can perform productive work. At the same time, taxes can be increased, thus reducing the budget burden. The second solution is to reduce the office hours of people who have older parents. For example, if standard work hours are from 09:00 to 18:00, these people could work from 11:00 to 17:00. Thus, their parents can spend more time with them and they are not bored. Finally, governments can construct specific hospitals for older people. For instance, If these people need to be treated in a hospital, medical staff move them to their specific hospital. In this way, there is no burden in general hospitals.
In conclusion, although the average life expectancy is increasing cause some problems, there are solutions can be performed by governments.