NETHERLANDS: Voices Raised Against 'Grey Plague'

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (HP/De Tijd Magazine), March 2, 2007: This week, the Dutch news magazine HP/De Tijd looks at what it calls ‘The Grey Plague’, the new breed of wealthy and healthy pensioners. The Netherlands has 2.2 million 60- to 75-year-olds who own 65% of the country’s private assets, and to some, they are becoming a nuisance. Take keen golf player and schoolgirl Carolin Reichert who was denied the ‘youth player discount’ by the ‘older’ female caddie master. Or the McDonalds in Almere, where a group of elderly people were banned for making too much noise. Or the shopping centre in Oude Pekela where a gang of pensioners took to hanging around and making unwelcome comments to other shoppers. The over-65s are even becoming a nuisance in university lecture theatres, the magazine reports. ‘They always go on about their own experiences during class and think they know everything better than everyone else,’ said first-year student Patricia Doest. Source: DutchNews