After Work in the United States and Sweden

Abstract

This chapter investigates the health of the elderly in Sweden and the United States, focusing on populations that are no longer active in the labor force. For most workers in the United States and Europe, the working years are followed by a period of voluntary withdrawal from the labor market. Sweden earned third place on the Global AgeWatch ranking of ninety-six countries. The rating considers health outcomes, income security, financial capability, and an enabling environment in determining the best places to grow old. Meanwhile, the United States ranks ninth. The chapter looks at three social determinants that the World Health Organization has identified as the most important to healthy aging: (1) financial security, including the ability of the elderly to afford appropriate and safe housing, to maintain a nutritious diet, and to benefit from adequate means of transport; (2) social integration, the degree to which elderly people participate in the community, through continued employment, volunteering, or activity in sports, clubs, or other social organizations; and (3) access to preventive and curative health services, including long-term care, and the proximity of these services to the community in which elderly people live.