# Is it ethical to accept a Senior benefit, even if I don't need it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2016, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562 "2016-09-22T04:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562/41 "2016-09-23T16:37:17Z")
The law is written the way it is. If your fellow citizens feel that you don’t deserve to use the services currently offered to you they’ll vote to change the law. Until then, the majority clearly approves, and you should use the services the legislature has decided to use your tax money on. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562/42 "2016-09-23T17:11:50Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > If it is a moral issue for you, one option for you would be to sign up for the benefit, and then donate like value to a poorly funded aid organization. Or needy people personally. > > I have moral ambiguity about a lot of things. I never pay a cent in any kinds of fees or charges to my bank, crecit card company, utility, etc. But their margin of profit may consist entirely of the penalties they charge against people who cannot or do not avoid them. So I am getting all that neat stuff for free, while the bottom feeders pay the cost of doing business. I’d say it’s more of a moral issue not an ethical one. If you qualify you can take it ethically. It’s not a big moral issue as far as I’m concerned, but if you care about such things it’s certainly greedy if you have _no need_ for the discount. But _need_ for a senior discount is not easy to define, you don’t know how long you’ll live and what your economic status will be in the future. It is wise to save your money so you won’t need means tested benefits some day in the future. So unless you have millions put away for the rainy days ahead it would be difficult to consider this to be even greedy. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562/43 "2016-09-24T00:00:39Z")
I can’t do this. I don’t want or need housekeeping help, and I don’t like feeling coerced. However, if I did NEED help, I wouldn’t hesitate to call and ask for it. And I wouldn’t feel guilty about doing so. Very interesting read! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562/44 "2016-09-24T11:48:26Z")
There are all sorts of seniors benefits, and how I would feel about using one would depend on how it is set up. It’s fine to take advantage of discounts , whether from a private entity (insurance or movie tickets) or a government entity (bus fare). Taking the discount even though you don’t need it doesn’t hurt anyone else. On the other hand, years ago my grandfather used some programs where simply being over age 65 made you eligible for free home maintenance, government surplus cheese and butter ( younger people had to be below a certain income, but senors were automatically eligible) etc. Those are different- the home maintenance was done by volunteers and if they helped my grandfather ( who had other options like his 10 grandchildren or paying for it) , someone else didn’t get helped. If he took the cheese and butter ( which he didn’t eat and gave to my aunt) someone else lost out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-accept-a-senior-benefit-even-if-i-dont-need-it/766562.md?page=2)