The Clan Elder is an ancient institution with Prehistoric roots, that has undergone significant change since its inception.
The institution of Elder
In the distant past, the Elders of a Clan controlled all aspects of that clan, both military and administrative. Though the Military Reforms under the guidance of ŋɥeŋe of t͡sɛpʷwɛ and his 4 fellow Exarchs would abolish the centrality of the Elder in all matters of life, the institution remains powerful and is in fact split into two parallel institutions, representing leadership in administrative roles and leadership of a Legion.
The actual age of the Elders
In the distant past, Elders were valued not because of some mystical wisdom granted by age, but simply by the reasoning that, one who survived a great many battles and reached a venerable age, is probably quite good at fighting. Counterintuitively, then, the institution of Elder in a military context does not much relate to age at all, while in an administrative context age is paramount. Militarily, the habit of the Wajahe of the past to rely heavily on the judgement of those 50 years passed carries some degree of scorn, as new tactics and weapons emerge at a significantly faster rate than those heady days. It is important now for a leader to not only accept fresh and new ideas, but to contribute to them by themselves - it is the only way to gain a real edge in chaotic and wartorn Exarchate. In the meantime, the administration, having very heavily adapted the t͡snæ.zʋy.kæ style bureaucracy, individual differentiation and promotion is an arduous and time-consuming process, and naturally the ones who make it into leadership of a Clan tend to be Elder not merely in title.
The treatment of Elders and the Elderly
The institution of Elder earns a degree of comfort in their life - and more importantly - is a job for life, from which only the greatest of failures or the act of treason can lead the other Elders to expel one of their own. As an Elder grows in years, and is unable to carry out their duties, they enter a quasi-retirement, where they possess all the powers of their station, and all the advantages both personal and commercial that it brings, without bearing its responsibility. In addition, it is a title that garners a great deal of respect, owing more to cultural values and historical reasons than the value placed on the actual responsibilities of the position.
The Elderly, on the other hand, are not treated in such a uniformly courteous manner, nor given a life of comfort. Elderly war veterans, good Soldiers who lived a full life but did not show enough capacity for leadership to make it to Elder, are given a retirement pension by their Legion, and often enough remain employed by the legion to help train new recruits, or manage the logistics of baggage trains and supply lines from back in camp. But this is a retirement with little comforts, or a working retirement for the life of a soldier. Elderly hr̩ə and hʷɛ.t͡sɥe.t͡sɛk both, who did not join the military, are given no pension or similar privilege. While the hr̩ə often owns land and has a family with a degree of wealth to keep them in a comfortable retirement, the hʷɛ.t͡sɥe.t͡sɛk typically lacks both, and will continue working, or at least providing what they can for the household, until their death. There is no system in which a hʷɛ.t͡sɥe.t͡sɛk child is obligated to care for their birthparent, as there is in reverse, but family units remain tight, and while old age is not comfortable, few enough hʷɛ.t͡sɥe.t͡sɛk reach it in the first place that it ends up as something of a novelty in rural areas.