Sun, sea and family values were not enough to lift Malta higher than 38th in the first global ageing index, published to mark the International Day of Older Persons yesterday.
Nordic neighbours Sweden and Norway claimed the top two positions in the table of the best places for over-60s to live. They were followed by Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.
The index, developed by the Help Age International advocacy group and the UN fund for population and development, covered 91 countries and 89 per cent of the world’s older people. It was designed to give governments a benchmark with which to measure the effectiveness of their policies for the elderly.
Bottom of the table was Afghanistan, followed by Tanzania, Pakistan, Jordan and Rwanda.
Mediterranean countries Spain and Italy ranked 22nd and 27th respectively. The UK was 13th, one place behind its near neighbour Ireland.
Each country was assessed on 13 indicators where international comparable data was available. These fell under four areas: income security, healthcare, employment and education, and an enabling environment for independent living. Malta was ranked particularly lowly (77th) in the employment and education domain, which refers to work opportunities and the educational attainment of over-60s.
The Parliamentary Secretariat for Active Ageing said it was well aware of the obstacles that older Maltese people faced to remain in the labour market and engage in formal learning.
It is never too late to learn or to re-enter the labour market
Last May, it established a Commission for Active Ageing with the task of advising the Government on the adoption of a national strategic policy for active ageing, which will feature labour force participation as one of three key themes.
The strategic policy is “very close to completion and should be launched in the coming weeks”, a spokesman said.
He added that the parliamentary secretariat would be implementing strategies over the next few months that prevented age discrimination in employment and encouraged “mentoring” of older workers. At the same time, it vowed to support local councils in the provision of late-life learning initiatives and develop strategies to reach older people who generally did not participate in learning.
“The mantra of the parliamentary secretariat is that it is never too late to learn or to re-enter the labour market,” the spokesman said.
At present, 22.7 per cent of Malta’s population is over 60. This is expected to rise to 36.7 per cent in 2050, potentially straining the pension system and care services.
The study noted that the top northern and western European countries had a consistent history of beneficial public policy interventions relating to social protection and healthcare, together with high levels of life satisfaction.
In southern Europe, it said that older people accorded high rankings to social connections, consistent with the view that family ties remained strong in such countries.
Sir Richard Jolly, creator of the index, said: “This ground-breaking report broadens the way we understand the needs and opportunities of older people, going far beyond the adequacy of pensions and other income support. It challenges countries in every part of the world.”