Pension & Old Age
Life expectancy in Ancient Rome was 35 years… in other words, old age is very relative. A big difference between Rome and our contemporary time is this idea that we are going to drop-out of society when we reach a certain age.
Needless to say, our current pension system is not even remotely sustainable (macro-economically) nor is it healthy for the retired (high suicide rate)… i.e. a system with no merit.
Guiding Principles:
Postponing Retirement
- Make age of retirement congruent with life expectancy
- Prepare the ageing for lower-intensity work
- Start career transition planning around 60 yo
- Enable semiretired status: part-time and flexi-time work
- Old folks would be great in kindergarten and education
- Penalize unwarranted age-discrimination in recruitment
- More fully utilize the experience old people have
Retirement Savings
- Use hedging instruments in retirement portfolios
- Make it easier for self-employed to save for retirement
Taking Care of Dependents
- Replace the self-respect destroying type of charity
- Transition from social safety-nets to safety-trampolines
- Offer support to those permanently retired due to age
Dying
- Discontinue non-palliative care in cases of chronic and irreversible diseases and disorders
- Accept the inevitability of death
- Give people a dignified death
- Accept reality of resource scarcity
Death
- Make organ and scientific donation default upon death
- Consider making cremation default, since slow decay of the body is undignified, and speedily becoming archaic
- Popularize noble practices like scattering and memorial tree/plant/reef urns
- Discourage predatory practices by funeral companies
- Develop vertical columbarium’s (cemeteries)