Vital over-55s are ill-prepared for the care they will need in the future. This is apparent from a major study by P&O Research commissioned by Trouw.
Yeps
According to the newspaper, it takes another fifteen years from retirement before someone becomes dependent on care. As a result, there are many vital elderly people. Trouw calls these vital elderly people yeps (young elderly person) in the study. The looming shortages in health care and a withdrawing government can put the current generation of yeps in trouble when they need care.
Badly prepared
The research shows that this group is ill-prepared to deal with possible problems themselves. The paper reports that yeps are “massively recognizing” that their homes are not age-proof and that they usually don’t do anything about it. There would also be hardly any savings to buy extra care.
Government task
Seven out of ten yeps would say that the government is responsible for good care. However, the government now focuses first on help from its own environment. A poll by P&O research shows that 45 percent of the over-55s do not want the children to provide informal care.
Income groups
It also differs per income group how people over 55 think about retirement. Older people with a low income are more concerned about becoming less independent than older people with a high income. They are also less willing to buy care in order to be able to live at home longer and 43 percent say they do not keep the momentum in life after they retire. This is 20 percent for older people with a high income.
The research was held among 1,866 Dutch people between the ages of 55 and 75.
Sources: Fidelity
