I just read an article that I can’t believe. . . sorta!
Did you know that people over 50 make up the fastest growing “heterosexual unmarried-partner households”???
1.8 million Americans over 50 are shacking up! This an increase of over 50% from 2000 to 2006!
In other words cohabitation is not only increasing among 20s and 30s it is growing the fastest with people over 50!!!
Why? Reasons cited include estate planning, alimony and palimony, social security, survivors’ annuities, and college financial aid.
You can read the article at Forbes.com. You will have to register and then search for “retirement and remarriage”.
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Tags: cohabitation, financial planning, marriage, remarriage, retirement, senior adults
November 5, 2007 at 3:22 am
Neil,
This is a serious issue in an aging society (which, with nearly 70 million baby-boomers on the way to retirement, we are quickly becoming). As a chaplain to seniors, I have seen first hand the love that couples share, but the red tape and hoops that they would have to go through to get married. The number one reason? Benefits and the loss that would happen if marriage occurred. Second reason? Family conflicts (the adult-children often oppose the marriage).
The trend of live-in couples also reveal how uncomfortable we are about letting seniors experience intimacy at such an old age. When a “couple” is formed in the retirement home, rumors begin to fly rapidly, and there is both pressure and judgment from all sides of the aisle. Couples are often private about their relationships for this very reason.
The greatest challenge is how the church is going to respond. What, are you going to tell an older couple to not have sex until marraige? Get real! They were most likely married before, and a marriage license is no longer meaningful to people who know what is most important. Furthermore, the Bible is nearly silent on this issue because people in that time did not live as long as seniors do now; we also have a longer time span in which seniors enjoy a qaulity of life and greater options (relationships, namely) to ensure the perpetuity of that quality (Viagra, anyone?).
Interesting topic, Neil. Keep them coming. But I’d like to get more of your thoughts on this subject rather than just reading Forbes.com!