More elderly living longer

There were 90,697 people aged over 60 last year, 3.1 per cent more than in 2008, the National Statistics Office said.

In statistics issued to commemorate the International Day of Older Persons, the NSO said that those over 60 formed 22 per cent of the population.

Women accounted for more than half this total.

Population projections revealed an increasing trend in the percentage of people within this age group, expected to reach 32 per cent by 2050.

This increase may be linked to a continuously rising life expectancy which has been observed during the past years.

Of the 45 grooms and 19 brides aged over 59 who got married last year, 40 per cent of the former and 32 per cent of the latter decided to tie the knot for the first time.

During the year under review, total government expenditure on retirement pensions amounted to €338 million or 51 per cent of total social security benefits.

Most of these benefits, 94.5 per cent, were contributory benefits, which totalled €320 million.

There was an overall increase of eight per cent in total government expenditure on retirement and old-age pensions with regard to the preceeding year, which was mainly attributed to an increase in the two-thirds pensions of 12 per cent.

According to the 2008 Survey on Income and Living Conditions, elderly people are at a higher risk than their younger counterparts of being poor.

In fact, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for persons aged over 59 stood at 21 per cent while that for younger age groups stood at 13 per cent.

The survey had also found that nearly 70 per cent of the elderly felt that they could not afford to pay for one week’s annual holiday away from home, 10 per cent could not afford to eat a meal that included meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day, while nearly 40 per cent said that their household could not afford to face unexpected financial expenses of €450 and over.

The average annual household expenditure for households with a reference person aged 65 and over, as estimated from the Household Budgetary Survey conducted during 2008, stood at €12,284.

This figure is significantly lower than that calculated for other households, which stood at €21,865.

Significant differences were also evident when comparing the expenditure patterns of these two household categories - elderly households spend a higher proportion of their annual expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages and on health items, compared to other households.

They also spend significantly lower proportions on transport, clothing and footwear, as well as on recreation and culture.

During the academic year 2008-2009, more than 50 people aged 60 and over followed a full- or part-time course at the University. Nearly 58 per cent of these students were women.

An increase of 24 per cent in the number of 60+ students was noted when compared to the preceeding year.