AGE Platform Europe is a Brussels-based European network that aims to voice and promote the interests of about 150 million senior citizens in the EU.

Presently, there are calls for an EU agreement on demographic change and for older people’s social realities to be met through the European Semester 2013 and upcoming Social Investment Pact.

AGE is taking this opportunity to raise awareness of the impact that the financial, economic and social crisis has on older people.

The European Commission should encourage national governments to address the challenges that are faced by vulnerable older citizens when pursuing reforms deemed necessary.

AGE is asking the European Commission to launch a European Covenant on Demographic Change as part of the upcoming Social Investment Pact. The proposed covenant should support longer working lives and healthy life years by pooling and sharing the knowledge and expertise of the World Health Organisation on age-friendly environments, paving the way for healthy living and active ageing.

This environment empowers older people to age in better physical and mental health, promote their social inclusion and active participation and help them maintain their autonomy and a good quality of life in their old age.

To support its call and encourage the European Commission to prepare a EU Covenant on Demographic Change, AGE submitted two detailed reports about the impact of the economic and social crisis on older people and about its reaction to the 2012 White Paper on Pensions.

AGE is concerned that the Commission’s suggestions to focus primarily on fiscal consolidation and budgetary stability will further increase member states’ obligation to speed up public deficit reduction while aggravating the risk of poverty and social exclusion at the same time, in particular among the older generations and hampering the capacity of the economy to recover.

According to the most optimistic projections, the EU will only achieve half of its initial 20 million for the poverty reduction target contradicting the Europe 2020 flagship objectives on poverty reduction.

AGE believes that an adequate income in old age must remain the fundamental goal of any pension model. The policy agenda proposed in the White Paper on Pensions is a step in the right direction. However, the actions put forward by the Commission are too narrow, focusing overwhelmingly on two aspects – striking a balance in public finance and increasing participation by persons of working age.

The prevailing economic and financial crisis provides an opportunity to review the efficiency and goals of pension systems at both national and EU level.

Pension adequacy, a decent minimum income for all pensioners, safeguards for workers’ savings and pensioners’ provisions and possibilities to extend working lives are all areas where substantial improvement is needed to restore confidence in national social protection systems and the EU social model.