This paper addresses the question of whether or not today's adults, by dramatically reducing their fertility, are jeopardizing the very source of support they will need in their old age. Part of the answer may be found in examining how present-day elderly with a demographic profile similar to that of a great many future old, cope with the prospect of isolation. Using Canadian data, the authors test the hypothesis that when there are few children to look after their aging parents, a transfer does exist from offspring support to that of collaterals, and that isolation in old age is not necessarily linked to previous fertility.
