New topics – Policies for senior citizens

A comparative analysis of the results of the latest research (May 2011) in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom reveals what topics are frequently discussed. Subjects such as “care”, “dementia” and “active ageing” were very much in the focus of discussion in these countries in the period from January 2010 to May 2011, but also the topic of “volunteering by older people”.

Volunteering by older people

The topic of volunteering by older people in the Member States covered by the research encompasses measures to promote professional structures in volunteer management and to create networks between existing projects (Austria), the provision of public funding for voluntary projects (United Kingdom), and the elaboration or implementation of strategic documents to promote volunteering (Netherlands, Czech Republic) as well as to enhance public awareness, for instance through conferences (Spain).

In Austria, a model project entitled “GEMA – Working Together” tested professional organization structures of volunteer management for the production, consultation, mediation and support of volunteers; it ran from 2008 to 2010. The aim of the project, which was developed in collaboration with the social department of the federal state of Upper Austria, was to upgrade and strengthen volunteering. The pilot project was intended to create a reference model which, after evaluation, could be implemented in all of Austria. In addition, an independent volunteer centre was established in Linz (Unabhängiges Landesfreiwilligenzentrum, ULF) to develop training programs for volunteers and volunteer attendants and link existing volunteer projects, for instance projects for the elderly. A total of 20 pilot projects were selected for the project period, and these were funded for a period of two years (until the end of 2010) by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection and the social department of the province of Upper Austria and supported by the ULF in Linz. The projects initiated in this period are still running. It is unclear whether, how long and to what extent new financial funding will be granted to these projects.
Further information can be found here.

In the United Kingdom, funding has been made available for various volunteer projects. Within the scope of the reform of the social care system, three million pounds have been earmarked to revitalize volunteering by older people. In addition, a new fund for the voluntary sector (Reaching Out to Carers Innovation Fund) was launched by the Department of Health in February 2011 in order to provide support for caregiving relatives through voluntary sector organizations.

In the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, strategy papers were published with the goal of strengthening volunteering activity. The strategy paper of the Dutch government in the field of informal care and volunteering (2008 - 2011) aims mainly to increase community support for informal caregivers. The Czech strategy “National Action Plan to Prepare for Ageing 2008 - 2012“ includes the goal of promoting social inclusion and participation of older people in education, culture and society. In Spain, a “Day of participation, voluntary engagement and active ageing” was organized (JORNADA DE DEBATE: Participación y voluntariado de las personas mayores y envejecimiento activo). The focus of the conference was on the Spanish “White Paper on Active Ageing” and the Spanish volunteering strategy “Estrategia Estatal del Voluntariado 2010-2014”. The issue of the appropriate framework for volunteering for older people was also discussed.

Use of digital communication technologies

Another topic raised by several Member States is the development of digital communication technologies. The application and extended use of new technologies in different areas aims at increasing the quality of life of senior citizens.
In Denmark, for example, improved quality in the social sector is to be achieved by increasing the use of technologies. In the Danish “MedCom” project, public authorities work together with organizations, and private firms linked to the Danish healthcare sector work in the development, testing, implementation and quality assurance of electronic communication and information technologies. Current projects can be tracked on the Medcom website.
Furthermore, three billion crowns will be provided by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs in the 2009 to 2015 period for the testing, funding and implementation of new work arrangements in the social sector. The aim is to bring about more time and better working conditions for social-sector employees and a better quality of services to citizens through the use of technology.
Further information can be found here.

The UK Carers Strategy also encourages the use of technologies (telecare/telehealth). Technology can help carers better reconcile their caring responsibilities with paid employment, for example by reducing the number of hospital appointments for routine monitoring and by making home environments safer and more secure. The British Department of Health has been running a project (involving over 6,000 people including 470 carers) which will provide an evaluated evidence base of the effects of using technology in the care of people with long-term conditions. The results will be available in 2011.
Further information can be found here.

Expenses for retirement and pensions as well as for health and nursing care for senior citizens are rising steadily. This means that the issue of future financing of national social security systems is still a driving force for national reforms and debates.

Reforms of pension regulations and incentives for working longer

In Spain, for instance, legal pension age was raised to 67 at the end of January 2011. Denmark will also raise the pension age of Danish workers, first from 65 to 67; then – parallel to the development of average life expectancy – pension age could go up to 74 years in the longer term. Moreover, early retirement options are expected to be curtailed and discontinued in the coming years. Early retirement possibilities will disappear in the Czech Republic as well, where a voluntary pension fund is expected to be introduced within the scope of the Czech pension reform. In the United Kingdom, pension age for both men and women will be raised to 66 by 2020. The British default retirement age is being phased out and will expire in 2011, the pertinent bill having been introduced to Parliament in February 2011. A reform of the public-sector pension scheme was proposed in March. Legislators in France passed a pension reform law in November 2010; the new law will raise minimum pension age to 62 by 2018. The French government has set up a dedicated website to provide information on the reformed pension law provisions. Further information can be found here.  In the Netherlands, pension age is also expected to be raised to 66 by the year 2020.
In addition to pension reform, legislators in the United Kingdom are currently reviewing the system of social benefits and taxation in order to create new incentives to “get Britain working” that will apply to all age groups. Special integration incentives for older people will be introduced in the course of 2011.
Additional information on the welfare reform in the United Kingdom can be found here.

In France, a national debate on Dependence on care and the future of care was initiated in February 2011. It is planned for a period of six months and was preceded by preparatory work at inter-ministerial level on topics such as “Society and ageing” (société et vieillissement), “The demographic and financial challenges of care” (enjeux démographiques et financiers de la dépendance),  “Residential solutions and care for the elderly” (accueil et accompagnement des personnes agées) or “Strategies to cover the costs of elderly persons in need of care” (stratégie pour la couverture de la dépendance des personnes agées). In January 2011, a website was created to publicize the results of the working groups and of the regional conferences that took place across the country. The workings groups presented their final reports in June 2011. The President will make the results public in the course of the summer, and they will be integrated into policy planning for 2012.
More information on the French debate can be found here.