Study to tackle longevity ‘dilemma’
Scots researchers are seeking information from around the world on the impact ageing populations are having on families.
People living longer is a global phenomenon that raises moral, political and practical questions about how families transfer wealth or poverty to the next generation, St Andrews University academics said.
A team from the University's Centre for Housing Research has launched a programme investigating key issues for families that are faced with caring for older people as well as ensuring the future of their offspring.
The programme will bring together international researchers interested in the transfer of wealth, or poverty, between generations. They will examine differences in cultural norms, policies and social impacts when it comes to families looking out for each other, focusing on how attitudes vary across generations and nations.
Led by St Andrews University housing expert Dr Beverly Searle, the network, called Integrate (International Network of Generational Transfers Research), will also look at how attitudes towards pensions and inheritance differ around the world.
"Our studies give rise to basic moral, political and practical questions to which we still need answers, such as who is responsible for providing for the elderly and giving the young a good start in life at the same time?" said Dr Searle, who believes that the impact of ageing populations on the transmission of wealth and poverty between generations could be one of the key challenges of the 21st century.
"We will be looking at ways of exploring the exchanges of wealth between generations and the factors that enhance or inhibit motivations for gifting, the benefits of receiving and the consequences of receiving neither."
Age Scotland spokesman Lindsay Scott said: "We welcome any study that will shed light on the financial situation of older people in Scotland. However we are concerned that there seems to be an assumption that the majority of pensioners are actually fairly well-off when in fact over 150,000 in Scotland are living in relative poverty.
"We believe that the financial satisfaction of the oldest-old that has emerged in other studies simply represents a psychological adaptation to an economic situation that is difficult if not impossible to change, but does not mean that they are receiving an adequate income to properly meet their financial needs in later life."
The network is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council for two years and will meet for the first time in Prague in October.
