Shirokalova G.S. Pension Reform As a Factor in the Destruction of the “Big Family”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2018.2.11
Galina S. Shirokalova
Doctor of Sciences (Sociology), Professor, Head of Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science, Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy
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Prosp. Yu. Gagarina, 97, 603000 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
Abstract. The article analyzes the social consequences of the pension reform proposed by the government. The author offers a new perspective of this problem: the inevitable deformation of the functions performed by relatives of the "third age" generation in the socialization of grandchildren. The author predicts that with the increase in the retirement age, traditional intergenerational ties will be largely lost. Although the age of mothers at the birth of their first child is increasing in Russia, grandparents who worked up to 63 years and up to 65 years are not able to be subjects of primary socialization even of younger grandchildren either because of employment or because of their own health. As a result, on the one hand, the growth of social orphanhood is inevitable, on the other hand - the proportion of persons of retirement age who need assistance of social protection services and places in homes for the disabled and the elderly. In addition, in recent years, the proportion of children with disabilities and mental retardation has been growing in Russia. The lack of assistance of the older generation in the care of such children will increase the number of "unwanted children". The absence of a common cause (education of grandchildren), connecting generations, will accelerate the process of emotional alienation of all generations of the "big family", and consequently, the atomization of society. Ultimately, the state will have to increase financial resources for the socialization of children and social protection of the elderly. What the government is going to save on pension payments will not be spent on improving pensions and the quality of life of the few surviving pensioners (as promised now), but on combating social deviations of all kinds. The policy of abandoning the "sociality" of the state for a quarter of a century under the pretext of the lack of funds to perform a number of functions has led to the criminalization of all segments of society. Pension reform will be another factor in accelerating this process.
Key words: pension reform, the "third age", intergenerational relations, socialization, grandmothers, grandchildren, a large family
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