The European Union designated 2012 as the European Year for Active Ageing. The objectives are to help create better job opportunities and working conditions for the growing number of older people in Europe, help them take an active role in society and encourage healthy ageing.
It comes as Europe’s policymakers seek to address the challenges posed by a steadily ageing population and its impacts on public services and finances.
The initiative was launched in Malta a week ago by the EU Commission Representation and, although all three objectives require our attention, more was given to the aspect of active ageing and employment.
The local scenario is known to all.
• We have an economy that has coped well with two large economic shocks (the international recession and the closure of the Libyan market). So much so that we do not have the level of unemployment experienced in many other EU member states.
• Employers still find it hard to find certain skills in the local labour market, so the presence of non-Maltese people in it is larger than ever.
• There is a significant percentage of those reaching the official retirement age, who are willing to keep on working.
• The government has raised in a progressive manner the retirement age in order to partially redress the imbalance being created between the inactive population and the working population.
This will help to make public finances (and in particular the welfare system) more sustainable. It has also provided incentives to people who keep working beyond retirement age by allowing them to keep their pension.
• Moreover the economic restructuring that has shifted the balance towards services and a longer life expectancy has also helped to create the connection between active ageing and employment.
It would, therefore, be a great waste if Malta were not to make use of such people as they can still make an important contribution to our economy.
However, it is not enough to state that senior citizens should be allowed to continue working if they so wish.
There is the need to raise awareness, to identify and disseminate good practice and, most importantly, to encourage policymakers, employers and stakeholders at all levelsto promote active ageing through employment.
We need to increase our appreciation of the contribution older people can make and to give such people more opportunities in the labour market.
Maybe three bits of data published by the EU provide a strong indication of the extent to which our population is ageing.
• The average age of our population in 1980 was 28.8 years. It had risen to 39.2 in 2010.
• In 1990 people aged 65 years and over represented just above 10 per cent of the total population. Ten years later this had risen to 15 per cent.
• The ratio between people aged 65 years and over and those aged 15 to 64 years was around 20 per cent in 2010. By 2030 that ratio is expected to go up to 40 per cent.
We therefore need such older people to continue working to sustain our health and social services systems.
In addition, research also published by the EU shows that the attitude of such people about work is very positive.
For example, 75 per cent of those aged over 50 years would prefer to work either the same amount of hours they are working today or more.
Eighty-four per cent of them claimed to be very satisfied or satisfied with the working conditions of their main paid job.
Added to this is the fact that 68 per cent of adults in Malta view people aged 55 years and over positively and, therefore, there does not appear to be any fundamental lack of cohesion between generations.
The final statistic is that 77 per cent of Maltese adults believe that people aged 55 years and over contribute to society by having a paid job.
The need for the elderly to remain active is required not only for economic reasons. Voluntary organisations very often survive thanks to the work undertaken by older people.
Older people who remain active are also more likely to lead an independent life and enjoy a better lifestyle quality.
Therefore, linking active ageing with employment should no longer be seen as a taboo, as may have been the case in the past in this country.