Old “Euro-orphans”? Migration of Adult Children and Social Security of Their Elderly Parents

Abstract

One of the broadly discussed issues, in particular in societies with poor infrastructure of formal care of dependent people (i.e. Poland), is the effect of the ageing process on the efficiency of informal care of the elderly by family members, friends, neighbors, and local communities. The complex situation of elderly care resulting from dropping fertility is further complicated when the emigration rate is high in a given country, such as Poland. The problem is often conceptualized in terms of moral panic. It needs to be emphasized that intergenerational transfers are not unidirectional and not always necessary, as exemplified by parents often helping their children working abroad, and not all elderly parents need care. In this article, I will emphasize the point of view of the parents of migrants, by focusing on the functioning of the transnational system of social security that consists of different actors (migrating and relatively immobile) in both sending and receiving societies. Quantitative and qualitative data from the field studies carried out from 2010–2012 will be used for the purpose of this text.