Abstract

Ethical concerns about the elderly are usually treated as a matter of justice. This is partly explained by the special status of the elderly in almost all economically developed societies. Public pension systems provide them with financial support, and publicly funded health care programs help to meet their health care needs. Those who are now old will have contributed to these institutions when they were younger, but it remains true that the elderly receive a degree of support from public institutions that the members of other age-groups typically do not receive. This institutional background naturally raises questions about distributive justice. Are the elderly receiving less, or more, than their fair share of health resources and economic wealth?