As we approach the New Year, when the first of the Baby Boomers turns 65 (all 470 million worldwide), the growing demand for public policy changes are especially marked in key areas of health and wellness, financial and insurance, work and retirement. From time to time I will report on noteworthy studies, conferences or events from around the globe that will inform policy makers in the area of aging populations. Just in the last few weeks:
A report released from the global financial services firm Aegon about the long term debt crisis facing Europe--a consequence of its aging population-- will require profound restructuring of national pension systems.
The latest S&P Study issued on Japan, “Global Aging 2010: Absent A Policy Response, Japan’s Graying Population Could Imperil Its Sovereign Ratings,” focuses on “age related expenditures, such as public pension funds and old age medical insurance programs” which have Japan on a course that is fiscally unsustainable. Living longer combined with birth rates well below replacement cause a demographic disequilibrium that the S&P analysts argue Japan has not yet fully addressed.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution on aging, establishing a working group on the human rights of older persons and recognizing the social and economic transformation that results from increased longevity.
In Rome, Italy, the Acton Institute collaborated with Vatican City’s Pontifical Lateran University to sponsor a conference on “Ethics, Aging and the Coming Healthcare Challenge.” The conference featured speakers covering the economics of how societies will change the way they work and retire as a consequence of living into our nineties and beyond.
Michael W. Hodin, Ph.D., is Managing Director, The High Lantern Group, Adjunct Senior Fellow at The Council on Foreign Relations, and Executive Director of The Global Coalition on Aging.
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