Ageing, Health and Pensions in Europe

The ageing of populations is one of the main secular developments shaping the 21st century. Ageing will fundamentally affect individuals as well as the European welfare states. Globalisation and population ageing now exert large pressures on our welfare states, necessitating reform of pension and health care systems. This will impact European labour markets as well as the health and well-being of European citizens.

The aim of the proposed topic is to exploit the diversity in Europe to better understand the key relationships between demographics, welfare regimes, pension provision, public health, employment, income security, and wellbeing in a multidisciplinary and cross-national framework. With the proposed topic, we intend to stimulate scientific research that will add cutting-edge scientific knowledge on the core topics of the European social and economic policy debate.

The research topics for this Forward Look were brought together in three broad themes: Labour market issues, Income security of an ageing population and Well-being of the elderly. [more information on the themes] 

Two committees were responsible for the development and monitoring of this Forward Look:

• Management Committee The project was guided and monitored by a Management Committee representing the ESF and other commissioning organisations.  Its Chair was Dr. Savvas Savvides, from the European University Cyprus, and member of the Core Group of the ESF Standing Committee for the Social Sciences [until 2010].
  List of members
• Scientific Committee The committee was responsible for implementation, including scientific and methodological aspects. It was chaired by Professor Arthur van Soest, from the Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement (Netspar) of Tilburg University, Netherlands. 
  List of members
  
  

^{This publication provides an executive overview of the topic, its importance for science, and the main recommendations arising from the project. [download]}