Finland

Peer reviewe

Active ageing, pensions and retirement in the UK

The ageing population has led to increasing concerns about pensions and their future sustainability. Much of the dominant policy discourse around ageing and pension provision over the last decade has focussed on postponing retirement and prolonging employment. These measures are central to productive notions of ‘active ageing’. Initially the paper briefly sets out the pension developments in the UK. Then it introduces active ageing and active ageing policy, exploring its implications for UK pension provision. It demonstrates that a more comprehensive active ageing framework, which incorporates a life-course perspective, has the potential to assist the UK to respond to the challenges of an ageing population. In doing so it needs to highlight older people as an economic and social resource, and reduce barriers to older people’s participation in society

A Belgian Case Study: Lack of Age-friendly Cities and Communities Knowledge and Social Participation Practices in Wallonia

This chapter presents a case study from a qualitative survey of 12 Walloon cities that received public grant from Walloon Region’s Minister of Health to organize actions inspired by the age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC) World Health Organization (WHO)’s framework. The aims of the chapter is to show how this AFCC framework can serve to local actors to pursue their own objectives, even if they have a little or poor knowledge of what AFCC might produce. The first section recalls the presence of the ‘municipality advisory councils of seniors’ (Conseils consultatifs communaux des aînés or CCCA) as a form of pre-existing seniors’ social participation, i.e. before the AFC experiment. It then explains how the WHO’s framework has been selectively adopted by regional public policy in 2012-2013. After the presentation of our research method in second section, the third part of the chapter presents empirical data’s: first, it explores the diversity of profiles and experiences of the three types of local actors implied into the processes (elected politicians, senior citizen representatives and administration clerks, the last one might be equivalent to “project management officer” in AFCC); second, it shows how problematic is the use and reference to the assessment of needs and resources of seniors at local level by such actors; third, it presents the central role of the local administrative clerks to give a certain coherence to the senior’s social participation in practice. In conclusion, the chapter lays the milestones of a more realistic use of the AFC framework by discussing the need to better articulate it to existing practices such as the CCCA or recent experiences of ‘participatory diagnostics’

Active and Healthy Ageing: Blended Models and Common Challenges in Supporting Age-Friendly Cities and Communities

This chapter considers the importance of identifying the origins of active and healthy ageing behind Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC). After discussing some general trends and definitions within the fields of active and healthy ageing and building on some overall limitations, this chapter (re)introduces empowerment as a key element of active and healthy ageing. By focusing on two central elements of a theoretically grounded yet practically-oriented vision of empowerment – i.e. a multilevel perspective and an insider’s view – a lifecourse perspective on active and healthy ageing is proposed in which the merits of both notions are integrated. By placing a well-considered vision on empowerment at the center of the argument, the frequent criticism on active and healthy-ageing discourses being too centered on individual responsibilities can be overcome. Potentials of this perspective for AFCC are discussed

On the postponement of increases in state pension age through health improvement and active ageing

The UK population is predicted to grow from 65m in 2015 to 71m in 2030 and 75m in 2040, with the number aged 65-plus rising to 18m. Successive governments have been reluctant to increase taxes but this looks increasingly unsustainable, if the increasing demand for health and social care is to be met. Increasing state pension age is the customary response for keeping pension contributions and benefits in balance in Pay As You Go (PAYG systems). However, this policy raises concerns about the capability of people to work to ever higher pension ages. Using newly available labour market data on health and disability, the paper finds limits to how far pension age can be increased without necessary health improvements. If improvements were forthcoming, planned pension age rises could be postponed. However, inequalities in healthy life expectancy across the UK are a major barrier to its achievement