by Ronald Manalastas

Created on: May 09, 2008   Last Updated: May 21, 2008

Deteriorating health, malnutrition, lack of shelter, fear, depression, senility, isolation, boredom, non-productivity, and financial incapacity are the most common problems that senior citizens all over the world face today. These problems can be grouped into two categories that relate to the physical and mental health and the financial capacity of the senior citizen.

1. Physical and mental health

Stability of physical and mental health is a key concern that senior citizens have to contend with as they go through their twilight years. The human body is a system that wears out with long and repetitive use; and quite easily, with neglect and abuse. Aging is a life-cycle stage where the human capacity to think, act, relate, and learn starts to falter and deteriorate. Aging breeds illnesses such as loss of memory, immobility, organ failure, and poor vision. These are critical dysfunctions that could sideline a senior citizen to a lonely and miserable life.

While a clean and discreet lifestyle in his or her prime could reduce the susceptibility of a senior citizen to dreaded post-retirement illnesses, the onset of any dysfunction is one unpredictable happening even if the person might have had robust financial health. The frailty of the human body grows with the aging process regardless of who the person is, a sure-to-come event magnifying the primacy of physical and mental health stability as a fundamental problem of senior citizens.

2. Financial capacity

Possessing sustainable financial capacity before, during, and after the inception of a senior status is both a basic problem and an elusive dream for most people. This financial dilemma is common among senior citizens who are usually relegated to an abject position of economic inactivity. Lack or absence of financial capacity creates a stressful life and invites the entry of problems other than physical and mental health issues. For instance, domestic problems in an extended family system can aggravate the problem of a financially-destitute senior citizen. Should any of the children be wallowing in a similar state of poverty, the senior citizen becomes physically and mentally loaded up with intense and continuing pressure out of being totally helpless to come to the financial rescue a grieving son or daughter.

While it may not be the panacea to aging-related problems, the value of money cannot be overstated in the post-retirement period. A financially-handicapped senior citizen, afflicted with some degenerative or serious

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