Seniors are far from a burden upon society

‘Silver tsunami’ never came to pass, says Isobel Mackenzie.

As we reflect back on Seniors Week, now is a good time to think about what it means to be a senior in B.C. Contrary to the apocalyptic predictions of a “silver tsunami” sweeping our province, country and planet, seniors today and into the future are very much in the minority. Currently, 82 per cent of British Columbians are under age 65 and at the height of our shifting demographics (2031), three out of four of our citizens will still not be claiming the old age pension or free ferry fares.

Yet, despite the reality of the numbers, we persist in painting seniors as a “problem to be solved” or a “cost curve to be bent.” How must it feel to be labelled as a “burden” to society, and how frustrating would it be to live a very different experience than what is portrayed in popular culture as the “norm” for someone described as a senior?

Far from being a burden, when we look at the numbers, seniors are contributing to society by working, volunteering and paying for a number of their health-care services. The number of people working beyond 65 is growing rapidly. In fact, the fastest-growing number is for those age 70-plus, who are still engaged in the paid labour force.

Seniors contribute the highest number of volunteer hours per person of any age group. As an example, each year in B.C. seniors raise over $10 million through Hospital Auxiliaries that fund equipment for people of all ages.

Less than five per cent of seniors and only 15 per cent of those aged 85 and older use subsidized, long-term care and, even then, we take 80 per cent of their net income to offset the cost.

Need help at home? Well, if you live in B.C. and earn over $24,000 a year expect to pay for a good deal of this “health” care yourself.

Even our emergency rooms, which are often painted as being overrun by seniors, are still dominated by patients under 65. Only six per cent of ER visits are by people aged 85 and older.

The reality of the numbers contradicts the pop-culture narrative of the impacts of seniors on our society.

At nearly every turn, the reality of the numbers contradicts the pop-culture narrative of the impacts of seniors on our society.

Perhaps nowhere is this more relevant than when we examine the issue of dementia. On any given day in B.C., 20 per cent of those aged 85 and older will have a diagnosis of dementia. Let’s look at this another way: 80 per cent of people aged 85 and older don’t have a diagnosis of dementia. Of course, the absolute number of people with dementia will increase as the total population increases, but there is no evidence to suggest that the likelihood of developing dementia is increasing (in fact, some evidence points to the reverse).

Yet, think about how quick we are to label certain behaviours in an 80-year-old as “this might be the beginning of … ” For the record, 25-yearolds can forget where they parked their car, lose their wallets or struggle to find the right word, and no one rushes them to the doctor’s office to see if they can spell words backwards or know what the date is.

Let’s take a moment not to dwell upon needs (and there definitely are some); let’s instead celebrate a group of people who bring wisdom, experience and lifetimes spent contributing to our province’s coffers and who, for the most part, continue to live independent, self-sufficient lives, knowing who they are and what they want, and always at the ready to lend a helping hand. Isobel Mackenzie is the seniors advocate for B.C. The Seniors Advocate Act, which came into force in March 2014, created the Office of the Seniors Advocate to monitor and review issues affecting the well-being of seniors and make recommendations to government and those who deliver seniors’ services related to health care, personal care, housing, transportation and income support.