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S R Sherman

Publications and source records attributed to S R Sherman.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Public attitudes toward Social Security.

In the early years of the Social Security program, public support for old-age pensions was high but knowledge and understanding about benefits and taxes were low. Understanding has greatly increased, even though the program has expanded, and support for Social Security has remained high. Data from the surveys and polls examined in this article indicate that support for Social Security was strong even during the late 1970's and early 1980's, when a fiscal crisis generated a crisis of confidence in the public's perception of the system's ability to pay benefits in the future. The proportion of the American public declaring confidence in the program declined sharply from a large majority with confidence (63 percent) in 1975 to a minority with confidence (39 percent) in 1978. Following the restoration of program financing through the provisions in the 1983 amendments, the trend has reversed. By 1988, nearly one-half of the public expressed confidence in the future of the Social Security program. For the most part, other aspects of public opinion regarding Social Security have shown great stability over the years. The program is popular and has been well-supported. Support for the Government to spend more for Social Security has been consistently high, as has support for benefits to increase with inflation and for benefits to increase even if it means higher taxes. Many individuals rely on income from Social Security or expect to rely on it when they retire. It is clear that the public wants the program to continue. If participation were optional, about three-fourths of the population would stay in the program.

Health Surveys↗
PubMed1985

Socialization and aging group consciousness: the effect of neighborhood age concentration.

In order to test hypotheses regarding effects of age concentration upon socialization and aging group consciousness, 1,185 persons 60 years of age and over living in areas representing low, average, and high concentrations of older persons were interviewed. Results indicated that age concentration was associated with knowledge of services and with age of persons in formal and informal neighborhood networks but was not related to attitude toward older persons in the abstract, to own age identification, to associational preference, or to taking political action. It appears that age concentration influences access to, more than choice of age peers. Both socialization and aging group consciousness are associated with age, health and socioeconomic status. It may be concluded that the ecological variable of age concentration in the range encountered by most older persons has only limited effects.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Reported reasons retired workers left their last job: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey.

About a third of all new retired-worker beneficiaries who had stopped work reported that the main reason they left their last job was a desire to retire. The existence of health problems was the next most frequently given reason, and it was reported by about a fourth of the group. These responses were made to questions in the 1982 New Beneficiary Survey, conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in October-December 1982. Recently retired workers not only said they wished to retire, but more of them began receiving benefits at age 62 than at older ages; by age 65 most were beneficiaries. Forty-five percent of the men and almost 54 percent of the women had already left their last job at the time they received their first benefit. Married women in particular had not only stopped work but frequently had left their last job more than 3 years before they received their first benefit check.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Assets of new retired-worker beneficiaries: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey.

Most new retired workers in 1982 owned some type of asset, usually a savings, checking, or credit union account, according to data obtained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in its New Beneficiary Survey. Many recently retired workers also owned their home, often mortgage-free. Homeownership was their most significant asset in terms of its median value. Comparatively few retirees owned property other than a home, though for owners of such property, the median value was substantial. Married couples, whose assets included those of both partners, more frequently owned assets and their assets had higher median values than did unmarried individuals. A comparison of retired workers with persons aged 65 or older who were enrolled in the Medicare program but who had not yet received retired-worker benefits showed that these Medicare-only enrollees were much better off, both in the likelihood of owning assets and in having higher median values for their assets. Individuals who retired before reaching age 65 and therefore received a reduced social security benefit were not as well off as those whose first benefit was paid at age 65 or older. Overall, the asset situation of new retired workers in 1982 was better than that of men and unmarried women aged 58-63 in 1969, even when the 1969 assets were adjusted to constant 1982 dollars.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Patterns of contacts for residents of age-segregated and age-integrated housing.

It has been suggested that age-segregated housing for the elderly is undesirable because elderly need contact with, and stimulation from, the young. Research has shown that, even in age-integrated housing, intergenerational contact is normally limited and greater density of age peers will lead to more opportunities for contacts and friendships. Interviews with residents of six retirement facilities and with matched controls in age-integrated housing showed that test residents interacted less than their controls with their children, grandchildren, and other relatives, and fewer had friends younger than 40. Test residents had, relative to their controls, more new friends and visited more with neighbors and with age-peer friends. Very little test-control difference was found on sufficiency of contact. A 2-year follow-up interview showed substantially the same patterns. It was concluded that age-segregated housing does imply different spheres of contacts but that either situation can be satisfactory for person who has freely made the choice.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Mutual assistance and support in retirement housing.

Among the advantages claimed for elderly residents of age-concentrated housing are the networks of mutual assistance among neighbors that may ensue. The extent to which these serve compensatory functions to replace mutual assistance with children has been a source of debate. The present paper compares networks of mutual assistance reported (in peronal interviews) by 600 residents of six facilities for the well-elderly with such assistance reported by matched controls living in dispersed housing. An earlier paper reported that site residents, relative to their controls, had less frequent contact with children but more frequent contact with neighbors. The present analysis shows, however, that there was little test-control difference in help received from children. More mutual assistance with neighbors, relative to controls, was found at two sites, less mutual assistance at two sites, and no difference at two. Finally, a cumulative rather than a compensatory effect was found between mutual assistance with children and with neighbors.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

Provision of on-site services in retirement housing.

The present paper addresses the question of on-site supportive services in retirement housing facilities for the well-elderly. Six hundred residents were interviewed, 100 at each of six widely varied sites in California: retirement hotel, urban highrise apartments, life-care home, and three retirement villages. Data were also collected on 600 matched controls in age-integrated housing. Questions were asked pertaining to caring for health needs, desire for counseling services, and expected support in crises. Results showed for the most part a good match between personal needs and environmental provisions. However, at one site considerable insecurity was expressed with regard to medical provisions and support in crises, and a desire was expressed for counseling services. There was no evidence of an erosion of independence at the sites where services are provided.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Foster-family care for the elderly: surrogate family or mini-institution?

The rationale behind adult foster care (AFC) has been that "participation in the life of the family" is superior to institutionalization. The extent to which AFC is familial has been widely debated, ranging from claims that this environment provides a surrogate family, to claims that it is no more than a mini-institution. This paper discusses the extent to which elderly clients are integrated into the family and the method by which such integration was measured in a sample of one hundred adult foster homes in New York State. The four dimensions used to measure familism were Affection, Social Interaction, the performance of Ritual, and the minimization of Social Distance.

Affect↗