Elder

An elder is the last Life stage in The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

The Sims
In The Sims, elder does not exist as a separate life stage, as Sims 1 Sims do not age. There are head and body skins which can give a Sim the appearance of being elderly, but it will be no more than an appearance. This means that sims that appear elderly in the game, such as Gunther and Cornelia Goth, can still have children and cannot retire or die of old age.

The Sims 2
Elder is the final life stage in the Sims 2. Sims will have gray hair and a hunched back during this stage. At the end of elderhood, the Sims dies of old age. It's the only age that doesn't have a fixed duration - The days remaining theoretically depends on the aspiration bar when that Sim ages. The higher it is, the longer he or she will live. They will generally live to be about 70 days old, but Perma-platinum may increase it to about 80 days. Elders do not have many special interactions, but a notable feature is that if two elders are married as Adults, they can throw a golden anniversary party. Elder female sims cannot get pregnant, but elder male sims can still imprenate Adult female sims. Elders can retire and live off a pension if desired (since it's usually a big want, it's highly recommended that they do). If an elder lives a good life (when there aspiration bar turns platinum), their grave will turn golden.

Examples of Elders in The Sims 2

The Sims 3
Examples of Elders in The Sims 3

Elder is a life stage featured in The Sims 3.

In The Sims 3, Elder is the last life stage before Death. Sims have gray hair, but they can dye it if the player so chooses. Women can no longer give birth to children, but men can still impregnate adult and young adult women. How long this life stage lasts depends on how long the player set his Sim's life. At the default lifespan of 90 days, Elder sims will live to be at least 90 days or older. The lifespan length options are 25, 50, 90, 190, or 960 days long. Elder sims with the Vegetarian trait live slightly longer than other sims. A sim's life can also be lengthened by completing the Marathon Runner challenge as part of the Athletic skill or eating Ambrosia. At the end of this life stage, Sims die of old age. Elders have 5 traits. The next life stage is Death.

Elders sims are slightly hunched over and complete tasks slower than other sims. Instead of having a bar on the Simology panel that indicates how many days left until they age, the bar states how many days the Sim has lived. Elder sims are 74 days old when they first become an elder.

Retirement lets sims enjoy the time they have left without paying attention to workdays. This option, however, can bring financial disadvantages. A player who has his sim at level 10 political career will earn about §582 per hour, working three days a week as an elder. With his working hours from 9:00 to 1:30, he would bring home §2619 every workday, which is much larger than the §280 he will receive daily after retirement. In this case, much more money was earned by working only 3 days per week, so retirement may not always be the best choice, depending on the player's opinion.

Things that Elders can do that younger sims can't:
 * Retire
 * Die of Old Age
 * Female sims cannot get pregnant, but male sims can still impregnate young adult and adult females.