The popular Imserso trips are losing the meaning with which they were designed at the end of the 20th century, as is the concept of active aging launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), which spread like wildfire throughout the world. developed and that managed to put in the marrow of the elderly the vital need to move to avoid, or at least delay, deterioration. All these plans, and many more, served (and a lot) to change the concept that until then prevailed of the last stage of life.
But all this has become obsolete over the years due to the arrival of new retirees with greater purchasing power, who have internalized the need to maintain an active life and who, in most cases, have traveled not only throughout Spain, but also abroad. abroad. New retirees who refuse to be cornered for the mere fact of having a birthday and who with their new habits and attitudes are significantly modifying the concept of old age.
A change, however, that will be much more radical in the next decade when some 14 million people are part of this group and that will cause a true social revolution, says Javier Yanguas, gerontologist and scientific director of the program for the elderly at Fundación La Caixa, who a few days ago participated in a conference on Old age and aging 2030: challenges and opportunities for all of society.
Yanguas is clear: a new model of old age is imposed, with different stages, as a result of the prolongation of life. “It is not the same to be 65 years old as it is to be 80, nor is it the same to be 90, the concerns and needs are different”, he clarifies. And it is that one of the greatest achievements of this century is the increase in life expectancy, a "democratized longevity" that affects all social classes.
"Today's older adults will die at around 90, but the children born today will do so at 100. It is an unprecedented achievement," says José Manuel Freire, a pulmonologist, professor at the National School of Health, former health counselor of the Basque Government and current president of the Health and Socio-Health Coordination Commission of the Platform for the Elderly and Pensioners (PMP).
In other words, when one reaches retirement they will have, on average, between 20 and 25 more years of life, underpins Yanguas, who states that the new seniors no longer see the transition to retirement as the arrival of a stage of cornering and To pass the time until the end arrives.
On the contrary, the experts point out, they are clear that "they retire from work, but not from life." They see in that time a stage of personal growth, of possibilities, of change. This “retirement army” has the power to transform society, Yanguas reiterates, because they know they have a future.
Until now, old age has been seen as a stage to attend to "filling time with activities that we don't know if they make sense," says the gerontologist. But this must change, because "the elderly themselves have filled it with value, they simply seek fullness," he reiterates.
For this reason, "old age must be reconceptualized", points out José Augusto García Navarro, president of the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology, who participated with Freire in a conference on the elderly organized for the PMP and which was also attended by the retired judge and former mayor from Madrid Manuela Carmena, 79 years old.
The exedil continues to lead her NGO (she has a store where she sells the products made by the dams) and continues to participate in colloquiums and talks. She is clear: old age must be empowered, because it is not a sad stage, it is one of pride, pride in arriving, for having done and for what can be done in favor of society.
“We have a retirement model that diminishes and leaves the elderly a residual role, in which it seems that it only matters that they fill their time with activities. Enjoyment is necessary, of course it is, but you have to look further, seek personal development, commitment to others... Another different way of being old. This change must be made, above all, for those who come, Yanguas insists.
Intergenerational commitment is one of the words that was repeated the most in the La Caixa forum. Because, while the elderly manage to reach their deserved retirement, the young have a more than uncertain future. “Right now the intergenerational perspective is failing. Old age must look up and get involved in ensuring that society does not fracture”, explains Yanguas.
