Active Ageing beyond paid work Older people's contribution to economy and society outside the formal labour market Eszter Zólyomi & Katrin Gasior
Misperceptions about ageing To retire is the end of being active Older people are a burden
When are we old? Definition often based on statutory retirement age Social construct: to be old does not go along with infirmity but is defined by law (Walker, 2000) To retire is often connected with certain labels retired = inactive retired = dependent Retirement behaviour influences personal perceptions of being old
When does someone start to be regarded as old, 2012 and remaining life expectancy (RLE) at that age, 2010 SK 58 21 years RLE = 27% 19 years RLE = 23% PL 63 EU 64 16 years RLE =19% NL 70 CZ HU DE RO LV UK AT BE LU IE BG DK LT FR ES MT EL FI SE SI IT BE PT CY Source: Special Eurobarometer 378 on Active Ageing 2012, QB2; Eurostat
How are older persons viewed in society? Old = inactive Message that often comes across: Old = Burden
Results from the European Social Survey (ESS4-2008) Ageism Modul 7.76 4.49
How are older persons viewed in society? Old = Burden? NO! BUT: often considered as a burden to welfare systems Ageing of populations is indeed a challenge for welfare systems BUT: old inactive
Important goal of the European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity 2012: to highlight contributions of older people to society and economy beyond labour market engagement
Unpaid work & time use
Time use categories (from the Harmonised European Time Use Survey) Personal care Paid work Sleeping, eating and other personal care Main and second job, activities related to employment, study, travel related to work/study Housework Unpaid work Leisure Routine household work (i.e. cooking, cleaning), shopping Caring for children and other (non-) family members, volunteering and participatory activities Social leisure (visits and feasts, other social life) Active leisure (outdoor activities, sports and hobbies, free time study, reading, computer games) Passive leisure (resting, watching TV, listening to radio)
Time use of older adults in a life-cycle perspective Time use patterns by age and gender (mean hours per day) Source: Own calculations based on Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS)
Minutes KANCELARIA PREZYDENTA Older adults in Poland devote most time to unpaid work Time spent on unpaid work by older adults (minutes per day) 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 BG BE SE LV LT ES EE SI FI UK DE IT FR PL 55-64 65-74 Source: Own calculations based on Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS)
Minutes Minutes KANCELARIA PREZYDENTA But important gender differences remain Time spent on unpaid work by older adults by gender (minutes per day) 55-64 65-74 70 60 50 40 70 60 50 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 FR BE SE DE FI LT BG SI EE UK ES LV IT PL 0 SI EE UK BG BE DE FR FI ES SE LT IT LV PL Women Men Women Men Source: Own calculations based on Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS)
Volunteering and social participation
Older adults engaged in volunteering Voluntary work in organizations during the past 12 months among the population aged 65 or over, 2008 Source: European Centre (forthcom.), own calculations based on European Social Survey, ESS4-2008 Edition 4.0
Feeling socially isolated hinders social participation? Self-assessed social isolation: respondents saying to have much less social activities than most others of the same age, 2008 Source: European Centre (forthcom.), own calculations based on European Social Survey, ESS4-2008 Edition 4.0
Providing informal care
Providing intensive informal care an indicator of future need? Informal carers aged 65+ (as percentage of population 65+ with(out) ADL limitations Perceived care burden vs. weekly hours of informal care received by population 50+ Source: European Centre (forthcom.), own calculations based on SHARE, wave 2.5.0 and Eurobarometer (2007), Q 29.1
Key messages Changing perceptions of Older people from 'retiring and coming to the end of their lifespan' to entering a 'third/new phase of life' Active Ageing policies to address discrepancies: Individual potentials and feasibilities of older people Social structures of opportunity for active engagement Resources needed to support active ageing?? Access to voluntary work Public care provision
Active Ageing Index In cooperation with UNECE Funded by DG EMPL measures to which extent participation in the economy, in society and in terms of independent living in a country is realised comparable index over time and between countries focus on outcome indicator
Active Ageing Index - Domains - Volunteering - Family Care - Life-long learning Social participation Labor market participation - Employment propensity aspects - Quality of work - Retirement and labour market behaviour Independent and healthy living - Premature death - Healthy ageing - Chronic condictions & mental health - Healthy environments
Facts CHANCELLERY and Figures OF THE PRESIDENT on OF POLAND Healthy Ageing MINISTRY and OF LABOUR Long-term AND SOCIAL POLICY Care II A joint European Centre and WHO-Europe Second edition of a flagship publication on elderly care Soon to be published!!! The European Centre Newsletter keeps you informed: http://www.euro.centre.org/subscribe_ newsletter.php For further questions please contact: Ricardo Rodrigues rodrigues@euro.centre.org
Contact details: zolyomi@euro.centre.org gasior@euro.centre.org THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!