Population ageing — distinction between poor and rich

1.4.2019

Question for written answer E-001583-19
to the Commission
Rule 130
Dubravka Šuica (PPE)

Population ageing is a global problem that will in future affect most of the world’s developed countries. In relative terms, the elderly population in the Member States will rise in the coming years, making severe demands on national health and pension systems. What needs to be stressed is the income divides among EU citizens and hence the fact that a significant number of people will be exposed to the risk of spending their retirement in poverty, poor health, and hardship. That being the case, and even though we are living longer than ever before, millions are threatened by the spectre of privation during much of their retirement, one major reason being the increased pressure on health and care services, local authorities, and state finances. Ageing is an inevitability, but how we age is not. Our present chronic disease rates and the state of mental health, disability, and infirmity could to a great extent be reduced and remedied if we acted more quickly to tackle the structural, economic, and social trigger factors involved in poor health.

My question to the Commission is this: Is the Commission already planning measures for the vulnerable group destined to emerge in the future within the elderly population?