Some thoughts were closely personal and came up during separate conversations about medical insurance, the Canada Pension Plan and my (age) 55-plus hockey team. I agreed to change insurance carriers, was prompted to apply for CPP early and wondered if there was a 65-plus team in town so I could be the youngest (and a star) on a team, and not the second oldest. (I know, Shakespeare is right: All is vanity).
Other thoughts were more social or political, and prompted by a recent report by Stats Canada about the greying population. Me. Maybe you. At least a growing number of Canadians.
["Some details reported Nov. 26, London Free Press"]
You may have heard the greying population referred to as the grey tsunami because it's a powerful force, one that may easily swamp some government services (e.g., medical, social) in the future. The report says a few words about the 'swamping' aspect of the greys and they touched a nerve in my (almost 65-year old) Boy Scout nature.
I read:
By 2036, seniors will account for 23% to 25%
of the Canadian population, and by 2061, the
figure will be 24% to 28%, they say.
In my mind, we greys won't exactly be taking over the streets but empty chairs will be scarcer at local coffees shops between 9 and 11 a.m. most weekdays. However, bigger concerns follow:
What this means is that as the so-called baby
boomers age there will be fewer people in line
after them to pay for their care.
"There's a kind of an intergenerational difficulty
in that," Beaujot said. "As we're preparing for a
society that will have more health costs, we should
have been putting money aside for that."
To me, I see red flags in the last statements. Big red flags, but not like the Canadian Maple Leaf. I don't think most Canadians and our current federal government are interested in saving up money for important future needs. We may instead be on the opposite course.
["Photo at http://www.usada.org"]
Stay tuned. More to follow.
Photo by GH
Please click here to read new skills at age 64
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