Physical and Social Development

Question 1: Impacts of Physical and Societal Effects of Aging on Retirement Decisions

Many effects of aging significantly impact the retirement decisions of older adults. Aging tends to physically affect many adults especially when it comes to health. Individuals tend to make decisions to retire considering their physical health status. Poor health may contribute to withdrawal from work and significantly limits participation. For instance, health problems such as arthritis, strokes, and heart diseases developed during late adulthood can precipitate early retirement (Böckerman & Ilmakunnas, 2020). Also, some societal effects of aging such as financial stability, adequate housing, living arrangements, and familial status impact the decisions made by older adults upon retirement. Some older adults may decide to continue working since they have ongoing commitments like ongoing debts, putting their children through university, and taking care of their families. People who have stable incomes, and opportunities for asset accumulation look forward to good pensions and may decide to retire early. Nonetheless, home ownership and better living arrangements can make individuals consider retirement when they reach 65 years.

Question 2: Grandparenting

The responsibility of grandparents becoming guardians can significantly affect their normal course of adult development. Generally, grandparents are old and experiencing significant health changes related to late adulthood. Some may have chronic health conditions that warrant help with house chores. Thus, they may find it challenging to keep up with raising children. As a result of the challenging task of raising their grandchildren, some of them are likely to experience health issues such as depression, hypertension, insomnia, and back problems (Buchanan & Rotkirch, 2018). Besides, grandparents raising grandchildren may experience mental challenges due to feelings of resentment and guilt towards their grown-up children. They are not well prepared to handle sadness, grief, anger, and other emotional reactions. Some of the major components requiring transitions into these roles include financial stability, familial support, and better housing. Apart from available finance that cab be provided shorter, grandparents need long-term financial assistance that will cater to grandchildren’s child care, health, education, and more. There is also a need for familial support from other relatives to provide them time to relax and reduce the burden of raising grandchildren. Before becoming guardians, they should also ensure they have homes with the necessary facilities for their grandchildren. A counselor can encourage older guardians in their new roles to join support groups to help them cope with mental issues, physically take care of themselves by engaging in physical activities, consider investing in their grandchildren and seek help from other family members, or childcare centers to get time for themselves.

References

Böckerman, P., & Ilmakunnas, P. (2020). Do good working conditions make you work longer? Analyzing retirement decisions using linked survey and registered data. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 17, 100192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2019.02.001

Buchanan, A., & Rotkirch, A. (2018). Twenty-first-century grandparents: Global perspectives on changing roles and consequences. Contemporary Social Science, 13(2), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2018.1467034