THE ONEROUS CONTRACT OF LIFE ANNUITY AS A TOOL TO AVOID OR MINIMISE THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF VULNERABILITY

Abstract

It has been internationally conceived that any person who is in a situation of vulnerability, including the elderly, must hold a special protection. It is the responsibility of the State to respect and guarantee the right to life, integrity, and personal liberty, which are every person’s fundamental rights and must therefore be protected without any discrimination whatsoever. Despite the generalized criterion, we are interested in analysing the scope of vulnerability with a view to the protection of the elderly. Not all of them are vulnerable; such a situation will depend on the circumstances, conditions and situation in which each person lives and acts. Not all groups or sectors of society have the same needs, interests, resources, social status, power or prestige. Elderly age can be either a disadvantageous or a fulfilling stage, depending on opportunity structures provided by the state, the market, the society, and by each person’s own effort in searching tools to improve their quality of life, thus escaping the effects of poverty and marginality.