Demografic change and senior volunteers in Germany

Prof. Dr. Christiane Dienel

Nexus Institut for cooperation management and interdisziplinary research, Berlin

            "More and more citizens suffer from too much useless time" This statement by the German old age expert Klaus Dörner describes a situation where retirement very often is not enjoyed, but endured. In the 1950's and 1960 in Germany, post-professional life was only a very short period of time - retirement age was 65 and the average life expectancy 67 years. Also, responsibilities in the home and family filled the lives of women, constantly. The question of sense and meaning for the Third Age was therefore not posed, and certainly the elderly did not demand for a new policy to give an answer to that.

            In the 1950s and 1960s, the usual model for a sufficiently meaningful age was the "active senior" whose activity consisted mainly of sociability - Senior Coffee, dance and tea, at best - and in the consumption of recreational services. Productivity was found mainly in handicrafts and household work. Meanwhile, a paradigm shift has taken place in Germany, leading elders towards self-help, empowerment, active citizenship and participation in the interest of the elderly. A representative survey of 2009 showed that 42% of the elderly see “productive activity and success” as a main source of happiness, even 51% of pensioners and retirees. For many elders, activities as volunteers satisfy this demand. Many start this kind of activity only after their 50 th birthday, because before that age, they have been occupied by work and family care.

 
            So far, in Germany, existing regulations on early retirement have, unfortunately, promoted the premature departure of older workers from the labor market, instead of the necessary gradual sliding out from the work in favour of other priorities. In the future, the German economy will no longer be able to dispense with the productive potential of the elderly. On average, only 1.4 children are born per woman, the average life expectancy is 77.2 years for boys and 82.4 year for girls. The German society is, therefore, ageing quickly. It will be an important political task to combine paid labor and civil society involvement of the elderly. We should not draw, a too-strict qualitative difference between the two, in terms of tariffs, prohibitions and regulations. A new culture of volunteerism of senior citizens is to be encouraged not only by distributing badges of honor, but also by creating specific enabling conditions. This includes insurance coverage for volunteers, but also a system of allowances for voluntary work, which already exists for voluntary sports trainers in Germany and could be extended to other activities. Senior citizens can go and look for new tasks. From the traditional fields of action of voluntary work like social services, sports, emergency services, fire fighting, cultural activities and entering into local offices, the scope can also be extended to join in work and business, schools and urban development, junior mentoring programs, international activities and health and self-help promotion.

            The changing needs of older volunteers have to be considered: first, they have altruistic motives and commitment to society to express, seek fulfilment of life purpose, but also, their legitimate need for social status and social recognition by offering attractive new roles. Do they still have to show their business card as a retired person ? Additional income opportunities are also an issue. The new senior citizens are, often, very well qualified, being online and networked; they are open to change. Already, some government projects attempt to build on this new potential, the example being a programme on "Intergenerational Volunteerism”. The demographic modifications of the German society will not be reflected and rated by installing enough elevators and wheelchair ramps, but rather by making a meaningful life accessible for the elderly, whether they, be more and less qualified, more and less healthy, or have more or less knowledge of the German language. This is one of the most important tasks for the German society in demographic change.

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