The disparity —already evident after the age of 40— is glaring from the age of 60 onwards. Figure 25 shows how the disability gap between income quintiles widens as the population ages, suggesting that the impact of contextual factors increases over the life cycle, and that economic and social resources are instrumental in the degree of autonomy people may expect to have in old age. This makes is all the more important to craft policies to counter these income-driven differences in life trajectories. Both the difficulties inherent to a particular impairment —be it sensory, mental or physical— and the different types of response from the environment in terms of capacity for self-care, adaptation of the physical context, participation in society, range of education and employment opportunities and respect for the right to self-determination.