- How Do We Age?
- Take our Positive Aging Test
- Find a therapist specialized in aging concerns
Key points
- During retirement, people often encounter ageism in social, medical, mental health, and workplace settings.
- Ageism can lead to shorter lifespans, poorer physical and mental health, and cognitive decline.
- Ageism can be overt disdain and contempt of older adults or could be disguised as compassionate patronizing.
I recently overheard a conversation occurring amongst an assemblage of 30-year-olds. One woman was sheepishly describing her attraction to actor George Clooney when she was cut short by the vehement response of a peer
“How can you find him attractive? He’s got to be at least 60. He’s old.”
As of the writing of this blog, Mr. Clooney is actually 65 years old. I am five years younger, so this woman’s comment stung me
Welcome fellow adults of my age bracket (and older) to a time of unwelcome and unfortunately inevitable ageist experiences. Nobody prepares us for them. Not even the most comprehensive retirement planning programs—those that address financial matters, the challenges of unstructured time, changing marital dynamics, loss of workplace relationships, and post-employment purpose and meaning—consider how ageism will impact our retirement years
And ageism most certainly impacts the quality of our retirement
The Two Types of Ageism
Research findings are quite frightening, so don’t dismiss, minimize, or triation’s Global Report on Ageism (2021), which states, “[A]geism is prevalent, ubiquitous and insidious… Ageism has serious and far-reaching consequences for people’s health, well-being and human rights and costs society billions of dollars” (p. IX)
Let’s back up a little bit and consider the history of ageism. Robert Butler first introduced the concept of ageism in 1969 and described it as “prejudice by one age group toward other age groups” (p. 243). Fifty years of research have occurred since this seminal definition was introduced, and we now have a much more comprehensive understanding of ageism. Consider the 2009 definition by Iversen, Larsen, & Solem, who describe it as “negative or positive stereotypes, prejudice and/or discrimination against (or to the advantage of) elderly people on the basis of their chronological age or on the basis of a perception of them as being ‘old or ‘elderly’. Ageism can be implicit or explicit and can be expressed on a micro-, meso- or macro-level” (p. 15). Wow! What a difference.
We are going to confront two forms of ageism in our retirement years (Butler, 1980). First, we will encounter benign ageism, which is a perception of older adults as frail, dependent, and helpless. This form of ageism can lead to compassionate but also patronizing treatment; it elicits feelings of pity toward older people and leads to protective paternalism
A recent example is a 78-year-old grandmother who was not informed that her adult grandchild had divorced; the family thought it would be too much for her. When she belatedly learned the truth, she was furious. Deleting her copious expletives, her response was along the lines of “How dare you treat me like a child!” Benign ageism is well-intentioned and infantilizing
The second form is malignant ageism, which is a perception of older folks as a societal burden. Consider some of the descriptors of older adults all too frequently encountered: unproductive, technologically illiterate, sedentary, lonely, unattractive, unhappy, unskilled, and inactive
Two recent examples of malignant ageism will suffice. First, the character of the grandmother in the 2025 film Song Sung Blue is introduced to us as a stereotypical crotchety burden whose family is literally waiting for a nursing home placement as soon as one becomes available
- How Do We Age?
- Take our Positive Aging Test
- Find a therapist specialized in aging concerns
A second and far more serious example is the frequently held belief that older workers hinder younger colleagues’ career advancement, particularly promotion. Many older workers have heard outright or been the recipient of a suggestion that they step aside and make room for the next generations in the workplace. Our presence is a burden to them
How Ageism Hurts Us
Decades of research from a multitude of fields concludes ageism hurts us physically and psychologically. Consider this statement by the American Psychological Association: “[I]f we have the good fortune to live a long life, inaccurate stereotypes about aging will harm all of us” (Weir, 2023). Supporting this conclusion, the aforementioned WHO report determined, “[A]geism is associated with a shorter lifespan, poorer physical and mental health, slower recovery from disability and cognitive decline” (p. XVI).
Aging Essential Reads
Resilience and Aging: A Reflection From the Camino
What Aging Parents Want Their Adult Children to Understand
What leads to these pernicious effects? Let’s start with the impact of aging stereotypes on medical providers’ treatment decisions. Providers misdiagnose, under-treat, or dismiss health concerns when working with older folks in addition to using “elderspeak,” including limiting vocabulary, dumbing down explanations, or speaking to family members rather than to the patients themselves, assuming they are unable to participate in decisions about their care
In their review of the research, Swift et al. (2017) determined perceptions of aging affected physicians’ decisions, leading them to be less likely to correctly diagnose a disorder as well as provide proper treatment to older patients
The pernicious effects of ageism don’t just happen in healthcare settings, so let’s move to the workplace. More and more baby boomers are remaining at their jobs after reaching retirement age either due to financial need or enjoyment and satisfaction with employment, a trend predicted to continue with Gen Xers. One meta-analysis explored the effect of ageism on older workers and determined it influences the process of hiring older workers, their career advancement, access to training, and performance appraisals (Bal et al. 2011).
To conclude, during our retirement years we will encounter ageism in social, medical, mental health, and workplace settings. According to Palmore (2015), “Ageism is so much a part of our culture that most people are not even aware of it. It is like the air we breathe. Most people become aware of it only when they grow old enough to suffer some discrimination…” (p. 874)
A Plan for Navigating Ageism
We have not been taught to prepare for ageism, an experience that can shorten our lives and lead to mental health manifestations
Most of the research focused on changing ageism addresses societal change; this includes “big picture” projects to eradicate ageism, which we should wholeheartedly support. But at the individual level, suggestions are sparse. Here are five recommendations to begin today:
- Acknowledge the reality of ageism. Everybody will experience it as we age.
- Recognize that ageism is harmful; five decades of research support this troubling conclusion.
- Call ageist treatment out when encountered.
- Ask your medical and/or mental health provider about their training for working with older adults and comfort with the demographic. Better yet, ask them to read this blog posting.
- Interact in mixed-age groups (called “intergeneration contact” in the psychology literature). These groups typically involve bringing older and younger people together to work cooperatively on tasks encouraging cross-generational bonding and understanding.
Bal, A. C., Reiss, A. E., Rudolph, C. W., & Baltes, B. B. (2011). Examining positive and negative perceptions of older workers: A meta-analysis. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(6), 687-698
Butler, R. N. (1980). Ageism: A foreword. Journal of Social Issues, 36(2), 8–11
Calasanti, T., & King, N. (2021). Beyond successful aging 2.0: Inequalities, ageism, and the case for normalizing old ages. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(9), 1817-1827
Iversen, T. N., Larsen, L., & Solem, P. E. (2009). A conceptual analysis of ageism. Nordic Psychology, 61(3), 4-22
Loos, E., & Ivan, L. (2018). Visual ageism in the media. In Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism (pp. 163-176). Cham: Springer International Publishing
Palmore, E. (2015). Ageism comes of age. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(6), 873-875
Swift, H. J., Abrams, D., Lamont, R. A., & Drury, L. (2017). The risks of ageism model: How ageism and negative attitudes toward age can be a barrier to active aging. Social Issues and Policy Review, 11(1), 195-231
Weir, K. (2023, March 1). Ageism is one of the last socially acceptable prejudices. Psychologists are working to change that. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/03/cover-new-concept-of-aging
World Health Organization (2021). Global report on ageism. Geneva
