Assessment of the living standard of elderly people and their well-being in a changing social environment

Abstract

   The current scientific article presents the results of assessing the living standard of elderly people, their well-being, livelihoods in conditions of economic instability and changing social space. Global and all-Russian official statistics indicate an increase in the ageing process of the population. Besides, there is a steady growth in the share of pensioners in its structure. In recent years, in the Russian Federation in general and in the Republic of Bashkortostan in particular, there has been a real trend of ageing population, longer life expectancy (73 years), and a greater number of senior citizens in total (28.5 %). Old age is associated with a period of loss and separation from the usual way of life. The assessment found the key problems of this category: deterioration of health, narrowing of the social world, loneliness, low living standard, and financial difficulties. It is identified that the Russian pensioners belong to the main group of the poor, especially the lonely ones. Their poverty is determined by a decline in living standards and material security, rising inflation, and the high cost of medical care along with utilities. It was revealed that for an elderly person, the main income source is a pension, and in-kind income from personal subsidiary farms is an additional one. Despite the generally low level of pensions, a significant part of non-working pensioners provides financial support to their family members at the cost of personal well-being. Therefore, family values dominate in the minds of older people, and many of their needs are realised in the household.