Longer lives could be crucial in European pandemic recovery, argues think tank, as new reports highlight potential of healthy ageing strategies to unlock ‘longevity dividend’.

A series of reports published by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) today highlights the economic opportunities of longer lives across Europe. According to the reports, older people’s contributions across the European region are significant, and growing:

• In Germany, 77% of people aged 50-64 are in employment.
• In France, nearly 1 in 3 workers is aged 50+.
• By 2035, almost 3 in 5 (59%) of workers could be aged 50 and over in Italy.
• Over 6 out of every 10 euros in the Spanish economy were spent by households led by those aged 50+ in 2015.
• By 2040, 63p in every pound in the UK economy will be spent by older households.
• Across the EU and Turkey, older people’s caring and volunteering contributes more to the economy than what those countries spend on defense.

However, the report also warns that the key barrier to realising these opportunities is poor health – limiting people’s ability to stay active as they age. Comparing countries across the G2o, the “Health equals wealth” reports highlight that:

• In countries that spend more on health, older people work, spend and volunteer more.
• Increasing preventative health spending by just 0.1 percentage can unlock a 9% increase in annual spending by older people and an additional 10 hours of volunteering each year.

The reports call for countries to better support older people’s economic contributions, particularly through greater investment in preventative health measures that support healthy ageing – the authors call for governments to invest at least 6% of their health budgets on these interventions, such as vaccines, screenings, early detection and management of disease.

Earlier this year, the European Commission adopted its Green Paper on Ageing, which set out a vision for countries to adapt to their ageing populations, including how to support healthy ageing.

However, to date, there have been no announcements of an intended White Paper or binding commitments. An open letter sent last week by the ILC Europe Network, a pan-European network on longevity, called on the Commission to ensure this is followed up by concrete and meaningful action.

“It’s vital that this Green Paper should not be put on a shelf to gather dust, but instead be a step towards a concerted European response to ageing. [We are] calling for an EU White Paper on Ageing that commits to making European policy and practice work for all ages”, call the signatories.

This afternoon, ILC are convening an expert panel discussion, together with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to discuss the joint challenges and opportunities of longer lives across the European region, and how the EU and UK can best work together to support healthy ageing. DIT will also be discussing its Healthy Ageing Paper – Solutions to Global Challenges, recently published by the Department for International Trade.

Notes

For press queries, please contact press@ilcuk.org.uk or +44 (0) 208 638 0832.

The “Health equals wealth” reports, highlighting the economic contributions of older people across Germany, France, Italy and Spain are available from: Health equals wealth: Maximising the global longevity dividend – ILCUK.

This programme of work has been financially supported by Sanofi.

The ILC European Network’s open letter can be found at: Open Letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission – ILCUK

The Department for International Trade’s “Healthy Ageing: Solutions to a global challenge” paper is available from: https://www.events.great.gov.uk/website/6441/

About ILC

The ILC is the UK’s specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on society, and what happens next.

The International Longevity Centre UK was established in 1997 as one of the members of the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance, an international network on longevity.

We work with central government, local government, the private sector, and professional and academic associations to provoke conversations and pioneer solutions for a society where everyone can thrive, regardless of age.

About the ILC Europe Network

The ILC Europe Network is a network of academics, practitioners, civil society representatives and business leaders across the wider European region focussed on the impact of longevity on society. The ILC Europe Network works under the auspices of the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance (ILC-GA).