Index Pensioner poverty Sociological theories of poverty Functionalist perspective Marxist perspective Feminist perspective Sociological imagination Conclusion In this essay I aim to address the problem of pensioner poverty in the UK today. I will describe what pensioner poverty is and how sociological theories can offer insights into how it is constructed. I will also describe how C. Wright Mills talks about the sociological imagination and how this might help social workers understand pensioner poverty. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Retired Poverty Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods or means of support, the condition of being poor, destitute. Individuals in the population are said to be in poverty when they do not have the basic resources necessary to participate in activities and have living conditions considered acceptable in the society to which they belong. There are two types of poverty: relative poverty and absolute poverty. poverty. Absolute poverty is the minimum necessary to sustain life. Relative poverty is the lack of money, which people in poverty need to provide food, clothing, fuel and social inclusion with their friends and local communities. Over the last four decades there has been a reduction in pensioner poverty in this country. In the 1970s and 1980s, 40% of pensioners in this country lived in poverty, as a society today this figure has fallen to 14%. As good as it is, it is still a problem faced by many retirees living among us. An estimated 1.9 million pensioners were in poverty in 2015/2016, out of a total of 12 million across the UK. Why was there this difference in previous decades? According to previous research, retiree poverty tends to increase in periods of high economic growth. That's because working people's incomes can rise much faster than prices during these periods, whereas in the past pensions tended to track prices more closely. This means that pensions are not increasing at the same rate. This can result in working-age individuals getting ahead while leaving pensioners behind and unable to afford basic services. When prices rise, especially those of fuel and food, concern increases. In the UK today 1 in 6 pensioners live below the poverty line. Rising fuel and food prices mean that during the winter pensioners sometimes find themselves having to choose between the two. Rising energy prices, leaks and energy inefficiency in housing and low incomes have led to the catastrophic energy poverty situation we find ourselves in today. With 1.14 million older people in England living in fuel poverty. and, even more shamefully, there were 31,000 “excess winter deaths” in England and Wales last winter. Most of these deaths occurred in people aged 75 and older. As well as the health effects such as respiratory problems and depression, just to name a few, that living in a cold house can cause. There are also social effects to consider, such as social isolation with some people having to make difficult choices between heating their home or buying the food they need. Retirees living on low fixed incomes can only survive thanks to their resourcefulness and determination to avoid going into debt. Some retirees may be proud and reluctant to ask for help. Many people don't realize when they are eligible for benefits, but they also saythat some feel too proud or embarrassed to ask for them, while others find the application process too intrusive. They may suffer in silence and not express how hard life has become for them. They. Things like bills, shopping using coupons or looking for the cheapest deals or maybe giving up some of the daily hardships they have. Older people are not taking advantage of the full range of benefits available to them, with a huge amount, up to £5.5 billion, going unclaimed every year. There are several large barriers that prevent seniors living in poverty from claiming crucial income-based benefits like pension credit. Sometimes this can be due to a lack of knowledge and even knowing what is available to them. Lack of knowledge about pension benefits has been identified as a key factor driving older people not to claim them. Sometimes pensioners assume they are not entitled to it. When in reality they would be. The vast majority of seniors say they would submit a request if they believed they were entitled to one. However, seniors often assume that this extra money is only for those worse off than them, or that owning a home automatically disqualifies them, which is incorrect. Sociological Theories of Poverty Sociology offers many theories as to why poverty exists in our society. I examined what insights functionalist, Marxist and feminist perspectives might have on the issue of pensioner poverty. Functionalist Perspective Functionalism is a perspective created by Emile Durkheim. He believed that society was composed of interconnected institutions (e.g., education, family, government) that depended on each other to function. Functionalists see society as similar to the human body. Likewise, the body relies on the heart to pump blood to other vital organs such as the lungs and brain. Functionalists see society as constructed from several interdependent components such as family and education. Functionalists believe that poverty is a positive function for all of society, although it is so difficult to think of any benefits that might come from being in poverty. Functionalism is interested in large-scale structural explanations of social life, so poverty is understood in terms of the benefits it provides. For example, pensioner poverty causes more and more older people to stay in work into old age because they cannot afford it. This means that there are more people willing to work for a low wage, helping to ensure the profit and functioning of some industries. Poverty also provides jobs for doctors and nurses. If people didn't get sick they would be out of work, charities would also cease to exist, meaning those who work within them would also be out of work. Poverty also offers some reassurance to the rest of society, poverty gives us something to measure ourselves against, if we can see that we are doing better than those on the poverty line, it pushes us to work harder. Seeing retirees in poverty will also help us save money to ensure we don't find ourselves in the same difficult situations when we're older. Marxist PerspectiveMarxism was first introduced by Karl Marx. Marx argued that poverty benefits the upper classes because there are always people willing to take on lower-paid jobs to keep the economy thriving. The existence of poverty and unemployment and the always existence of a reserve army of individuals willing to work later in life. Capitalism and the bourgeoisie therefore benefit from the existence of poverty. Second..