Precarious Aging: Insecurity and Risk in Late Life

Abstract

Population aging and longevity in the context of declining social commitments raise concerns about disadvantage, inequality, and the well-being of older people. In this short piece, we use the concept of precarity as a lens to understand new and sustained forms of insecurity that affect late life, and we illustrate how these risks, when experienced over time and in relation to conditions such as austerity, can deepen disadvantage.