by Nirvana
Investment for Social Change
Opportunities for Problem Solving
The concept of an ageing population is one of the leading problems arising at global, national and local levels. The world’s population is ageing at such a rate that the over 60s now make up over 10%, and by 2050 this is likely to rise to over 20%. However, an ageing population does not come without significant costs and raises many issues that policymakers need to address. Of increasing concern is the issue of 'healthy life' expectancy - living longer but without significant disability.
Like many countries across the world, the United Kingdom's population is ageing. Although the number of elderly people is not rising as quickly as some countries such as Italy or Japan, the UK’s 2001 census showed that for the first time, there were more people aged 65 and older than under 16 living in the country. Between 1984 and 2009, the percentage of the population aged 65+ rose from 15% to 16% which is an increase of 1.7 million people. The worrying prediction is, that by 2040, there will be 15 million people aged 65 or over, compared to 8.7 million under 16.
There are two main reasons for the ageing population. Increased life expectancy and decreased fertility rate. These two reasons might sound safe but the real danger will come soon. As medicine advances and older populations are healthier, they will live longer and thus the population as a whole will age. In the UK, the fertility rate has been below replacement levels since the early 1970s. There a lot of factors that has contributed to this change. These include improved availability and effectiveness of contraception, the rising costs of living, increasing female participation in the labour market, changing social attitudes and the rise of individualism.
There are many problems that are created in society due to this ageing population problem. First of all longer retirement periods may lead to an increased level of pensioner poverty, especially amongst those who have not been able to pay into occupational schemes. Women are particularly vulnerable to this. They have a higher life expectancy than men and can lose their husband's pension support if he dies first.
Secondly, much of the costs of old age have risen because growth in total life expectancy has outpaced growth in healthy life expectancy. In response to this, the UK government recently announced plans to remove the fixed retirement age meaning that employers can no longer force people to retire once they reach 65. And it can be an advantage, if a healthier old-age population would also allow greater numbers to remain in the labour market for longer, thereby mitigating the impact of an ageing population on the dependency ratio. This, in turn, could increase tax receipts and limit public expenditure growth.