6 in constant francs between 1997 and 2001

Life expectancy is considerably high in our country over the past sixty years. Of 69.2 years in 1946 for women, it is passed to 84.3 years in 2008, according to Insee. For men, it is now of 77.5 years, 63.4 years in 1950. Excess male mortality is important, even if there for some years a tendency to reduction of the gap between men and women. Where a constant, specific to the provision of services for the 3rd age: whether it's home care or collective accommodation, support population is women 80. In institutions for the elderly, women are three times more numerous than men. After 85 years, they are five times more.

Retirees: a heterogeneous population speak of "elderly" as a homogenous group is a mistake. According to the age, sex, financial situation and the degree of dependency, should know precisely the fringe of population to which it applies. Several classifications have been made, which will allow you to refine your entrepreneurial approach. Test classification: four groups of pensioners - active in retirement (24), which should increase with the arrival of new generations. It is composed of persons - more dependent children - wealthy, cultured, which travel, leisure time-consuming and spend for their appearance. -That of retirement happy, family and fun (22), centred on the family, grandchildren and the relationships between generations. -That of retirement rest (28), that has a manual or intellectual, always peaceful activity, and axis its spending on health and nutrition. - And finally those retirement withdrawal (12) and the pension misfortune (14), composed of little affluent people who live very modestly, even in the most perfect destitution.

A classification according to purchasing behaviors found another qualification, in the qualitative study of the Interdeco Board (magazine our time), which, in 2002, identified three segments of population following their purchasing behaviour. -"Everyone at home." They are relaxed pensioners, large consumers of television, reluctant to innovation; they spend much of their time at home and out primarily to the Tower of the traders in their neighbourhood. Their main link with the outside world, in addition to the TV, consists of regular visits to their children and/or grandchildren for which they "put small dishes in the great". -"Home sweet home". They turned more to the outside world and to the fact of the news. The Epicureans are: gardening, crafts and family are the three breasts of their universe. They practice "active cocooning". While they represented almost 33 in 1992, they are now 25 of seniors. -"Long live life". They represent 47 of the French more of 50 years (while they were only 41 per cent in 1992) and are more active, more dynamic, group multiple occupations. It is the group most consumer more than 50 years. They should play an important role in the years to come. They are aware of all, to inform on everything through many magazines, travel to distant destinations. In short, they eat the life toothy. They spend more and better than the average of the 25-34 years on the majority of the positions of consumption. Near a French on two old more 50 years today mentality: retirement must be live as a second youth... And, by 2015, a consumer on two senior. In short, 75 of the more than 50 years live, according to these statistics, rather well retire. A new way to retire the image of the miserable old man gradually faded in favor of the retired active, dynamic and solvent. The result is a rather positive attitude towards the passage of the age of retirement. The lengthening of life expectancy, the adjustment of pensions, the lowering of the age of termination of activity resulted by the appearance of a new category of retirees, active, and therefore wasteful. Active seniors can benefit from services that the previous generation would have regarded as a luxury: housework, shopping delivered to the kitchen... For open pensioners on social and cultural life, retirement is a social and intellectual life. They travel, meet friends, read more newspapers than the average of the population, and not an excessive reduction of their way of life complain. From generations of "papy-boom", retired by 2010, will all have the same behaviors than their elders. Better educated, more curious, less docile and relatively wealthy, the "new old" will be certainly more demanding about the quality of the services which will be proposed to them. It is the passage of the State of passive patient to the informed consumer. The third to the fourth age the end of the 20th century gave birth to a new category of population, said of the fourth age, which covers those aged 80 years and more. An age in which the prevalence of addiction begins to increase rapidly. These people will be 4 million by 2020 (i.e. 80 more than in 2000) and 7 million by 2040 (over three times more than in 2000). While the France had a hundred of centenarians in 1900, and approximately 200 in 1950 in identifies more than 11 000 today. They may be 165,000 in 2050, date at which the Insee provides that women live on average 90 years and 80 men. The aging of the French population is accompanied by the partitioning of generations (saw less and less with the grandparents). Therefore, the assumption of the great age of an increasing number of people is and will increasingly serious problems of society. How to ensure best care How to provide everyone a decent life in satisfactory conditions of comfort and security Projections that give rise to a number of questions. The emergence of a fourth age, force and especially demanding, requires a change in mentalities. Seniors want to and lack of infrastructure, should be maintained at home. Everything must be done to help them preserve their autonomy. Proximity services, to meet the necessities of daily life (hygiene, health, food, housing adaptation), should be combined with recreation and training services. Indeed, the elderly worry since the closure of social services, after 17 hours or during weekends. They do not know who to call when needed. Sink clogged, shot who jump, water leakage, etc., small technical problems that may turn the nightmare. For this kind of incidents, most of the craftsmen refuse to move or speakers for an excessive price. The nature of the services at home for people older may therefore become an issue of concern in France and also in Europe, as support by the family moves strongly while the number of older people increases. Should also realize that, for some, the reality of the third age, and especially that of the fourth age, is far from idyllic. Indeed, retirement easy rhymes not always with happy old age. The image of the retired young, dynamic, sports, travelling, sometimes obscures another reality of old age, that of old age, associated with the dependency and isolation. This population is obviously very different needs: a large part of it is already entered a phase of physical dependence which requires heavy medical care. An any other "market" for residential designers and service providers. Solitude from 51 years, the proportion of women living alone is progressing very substantially and lies above that of men. The highest point is located in 85 years. At this age, more than half of women lives alone but only one man in four. Beyond, the elderly live more and more institution. In total, more than half of the people living alone were over 55 years. Isolation affects especially women. There are, according to Insee, 2 million of only women aged 65 years and over.

500,000 men (there is four times more widows than widowers). Seven people aged 65 to 69 years in ten live as a couple, three in ten more than 80 years. When the spouse has disappeared, it remains the family, sometimes. But 26 of the elderly living in urban areas and 16 of rural dwellers have no child. Indeed, even parents of large families may sometimes find themselves alone, if their children are expatriates for professional reasons. In only those aged 85 years and more, uselessness printing increases, more than 88 years, one in three women and a man on four are in a situation of dependency. The adaptation of housing the housing issue is particularly sensitive and is a concern for more than 60 years. It has a direct relationship with loneliness, because moving it is risking losing its neighbourly relations, but stay in inadequate housing also means that we can no longer leave that one there is somehow cloîtré. Most of the time, at this age, stability in the housing is great. But the housing, in many cases, are not adapted to the loss of autonomy (absence of Elevator, steep stairs, etc.). The fear of disease age-related pathologies result before any of the conditions of life. The society is faced, for example, new diseases. In the past, people with diabetes, cardiac patients, obese and other sick people were sentenced to short or medium term. Thus, the increase in life expectancy is not always increase the quality of life. Longevity and increasing dependency Handicap, disability, incapacity, as many terms traditionally the evils of old age. It is now commonly accepted to replace these terms by the concept of dependency, which refers to the inability to perform only the actions of daily life. The France currently has 850 000 people dependent on over 60 years aided by a third party to get the bed or wheelchair, for washing or dressing. Given demographic developments and the lengthening of the average life expectancy, this figure should continue to grow strongly until 2040. These people are often very elderly women living alone or in cohabitation. So it uses today the notion of disability (DFLE)-free life expectancy. Earnings of expectation of life without disability or disability are slightly higher than the total gains in life expectancy. Downward mobility and physical strength due to the aging leads to other disabilities: 33 of the octogenarians without spouse would never their races, 15 would not prepare their meals, 25 would not do their household and would take 65 not to care not the large maintenance. The people over 80 years are also very many to seek the assistance of a third party to perform their administrative procedures: 69 of persons without a spouse, 75 of widows. According a survey conducted in 2005 by the AGF with Ipsos group, two thirds of the French feel fairly well or very well informed about risks related to dependence. Simultaneously, four in ten people in their closest entourage an elderly person in a situation of loss of physical or psychological autonomy. The French are aware that the loss of autonomy requires the establishment of multiple services and believe in 70 of cases, be unable to cope with the costs of additional life that they have to pay if they became dependent. The financial aspect of the problem of dependence is therefore essential. However, three quarters of the French more 45 does not anticipated it by a specific savings. In the matter, men (80) fail even more problem than women (74). In total, two thirds of the French in 45 years are aware that their savings will not be enough to cope. Moreover, the French are few illusions about the efficacy of solidarity to help in the event of dependence. 72 of the 45 years and more believe that their family will not be able to support. They are 75 of the same age group to estimate that the State aid will be not be sufficient. The average actual cost of dependency varies between 900 and 2,300 euros per month. For the majority of the French, these additional costs cannot be financed by revenues or savings, or by the State aid or the help of their family. A contrasting material situation A globally positive balance undeniably, the material situation of the elderly is comparable to what it was in the 1970s. According to Insee, retirement pensions increased by 13.6 in constant francs between 1997 and 2001. Another clue confirming this overall improvement in their standard of living: the decrease in the number of beneficiaries of the minimum old-age, created in 1956, and became in 2006 the allocation of solidarity with the elderly (Aspa). "Since the beginning of the 1960s, their number has continued to decrease in connection with the gradual improvement of pensions", note the experts of the DRESS (Directorate of research, studies, evaluation, and statistics). After 20 years of significant decline (-4,7 in annual average between 1983 and 2003), the decline of the beneficiaries currently stabilizes around 2. If the purchasing power of pensioners has increased, however, they consume less than the entire population. Senior citizens are thoughtful consumers. They need not new products in their daily lives, although they are not reluctant. But they will catch up on other items of expenditure. The generation of 60-75 years represents 35 of the travel market and 80 of clients of the cruise. Healthy eating, new cars, seniors are even better equipped than the average of the population in televisions, freezers and dishwashers. They arbitrate their spending wisely, spend many communication (TV, video camera) and embarked on the internet, which is experiencing a growth rate two to ten times faster than in other age groups. Finally, a large part of the purchasing power of senior citizens is devoted to grandchildren. Marked disparities these optimistic data however cannot hide the increase in the difficulties encountered by thousands of pensioners. While today ' today, more than 60 years hold 22 of national income, two thirds of private heritage, and three-quarters of stock portfolios, on the other hand, 600 000 elderly people live with the minimum old age (now seniors solidarity allocation), which is fixed at 8 125 EUR per year per person (13 765 euros for a couple), April 1, 2009. What is this fringe of population below the poverty line. These disparities are regional in nature. Pensioners of le-de-France, for example, have a superior average pension of about one and a half times that of the Basse-Normandie region. Another factor of disparity, the socio-professional category which the retired person. The lowest pension are former farmers, with a lower 50 to the average retirement pension. The former executives have the highest pension, 2 500 euros on average in le-de-France. Finally, women receive a lower average pension of 40 to that of the male population (979 average pension against 1625 in 2004 EUR). Even if this gap tends to tighten, consequence of the increase in the level of qualification they and their access to more remunerative jobs. The explanation lies in the disparity between generations (the over-representation of women among the older) and, especially, inequality of wages and professional careers, in terms of occupations performed and durations. The diversity of levels of retirement between generations in part reflects change in the structure of the active population (including the increase in labour and the decrease in the number of farmers) over the past sixty years. The economic record of the third age is therefore very varied and the big losers are very old women, of whom most were not salaried long enough to benefit from the pension, where a high proportion of retraitées with that of the minimum old age to survive. In addition, the third age is much easier than the fourth age, where many people under more social assistance. They need services, but cannot finance them.