ECLAC Notes

HEADLINES

Editorial Rapid Ageing of Population will Force Redefinition of Public Policies

Within 40 years, almost a fourth of the region’s total population will be over 60. The population of Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to age rapidly over the next 15 years (3.6% between 2010-2050), and this will have a profound impact on social protection systems and health services, forcing States to redefine their role and reallocate public resources.

According to ECLAC’s Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), the high rate of growth of the elderly population implies that between 2000-2025, there will be 57 million older persons in addition to the current 42 million. The population over 60 is expected to rise by another 84 million in 2050.

In the region, the population of high-income countries with greater institutional development is ageing more rapidly, while in poorer countries with weak institutional frameworks ageing is slower.

According to CELADE, the countries with incipient ageing are Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay and Nicaragua. Those ageing moderately include Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and Mexico. Those countries with moderately advanced ageing are Argentina, Chile and Trinidad and Tobago, while those with advanced ageing include Barbados, Cuba, Martinique, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

The ageing process in our region has been faster and has involved urgencies and consequences that differ from those observed in developed countries, whose populations are ageing at slower rates. Here, it occurs in a context of enormous precariousness and social and economic inequality, weak institutional development, limited coverage and quality of social protection systems and a strong burden on families in terms of caring for and satisfying the needs of the elderly population.

The demographic transformation in the region is forcing States to anticipate responses to the consequences of having a rapidly increasing population of older persons in the near future, recognizing their rights and adapting their budget allocations and technical capabilities.

Governments have gradually become aware of the need for long-term planning to address this segment of the population, measure the effectiveness of current laws, policies and programmes geared at the elderly population, and analyse the areas that will require greater resources and public intervention, including some that have been largely ignored until now, such as physical and social environments.

“Today the region is at a favourable crossroads to redefine policies. A significant number of countries are going through a period in which the relative proportion of dependent older persons has decreased due to lower fertility rates while at the same time, the proportion of older persons in the general population is relatively low, for the moment. This situation, called ‘demographic bonus’ or ‘demographic window of opportunities’, provides potential relief to the public coffer and a period in which to redesign public policies with a more long-term approach,” said Dirk Jaspers, Director of CELADE, during his presentation at the Regional Seminar “Progress and Key Actions for Implementing the Cairo Program of Action, 15 Years after Approval” on October 7.

Public policies for older persons differ from one country to another according to the speed of the demographic transformation of their populations, their socio-economic development, available resources and the other priority areas for social investment.

To a greater or lesser extent, countries in the region have progressed significantly in that direction, recognizing the rights of older persons and creating legal frameworks for their protection. These include constitutional clauses, laws, statutes and regulations on their rights, benefits and special treatment. Some countries have created public institutions with ministerial rank or other State agencies in charge of meeting the needs of older persons and coordinating public policies geared at them.

However, these legally-established rights are often not reflected in effective guarantees and protection, due largely to a lack of resources and means of enforcement.

In general, these measures focus on establishing special protections for low-income older persons, extending coverage of social security systems, improving health services and guaranteeing tax-exempted pensions, among others.

In spite of these measures, a large part of the elderly population in the region still has no access to social security, healthcare or quality basic services on a regular basis. This is due to that social protection systems are precarious in general and that governments have still not acknowledged the importance of this age group in their public policies.

Particularly urgent is the inclusion of income protection of older persons in public policies. This continues to be incipient in the region, but there are nonetheless initiatives to promote employment for older workers, encourage access to credit for productive activities and increase bonuses, subsidies and family allowances.

The weakness of public policies geared at the elderly has meant that the responsibility for their care and attention rests on family members, particularly on women. This not only implies an emotional and economic burden, but also impedes many women from entering the work force or developing in other areas.

The discriminatory treatment towards older persons goes beyond their exclusion from public policies, said participants to the Regional Meeting of Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean on Ageing, held at ECLAC on October 1-2.

“The different social actors, including older persons themselves as protagonists, and in particular the media, have been unable to promote a positive image of old age,” the final document of the meeting states.

“Rising discrimination… worsens in rural areas, among retirees, prisoners, immigrants, those forcefully displaced, indigenous peoples, and Andean areas and the south,” it adds.

For many governments in the region, the ageing of their population is still not a priority issue and it is sometimes scarcely present in the public agenda. However, in just a few decades, this issue will inevitably become a central element of public policies and will demand the adoption of urgent measures.

One way to anticipate this is by promoting dignified employment and encouraging the savings capabilities of today’s youths, thus guaranteeing better living conditions in the future. No less important is the incorporation of older persons in the process of designing, implementing and following-up public policies, a process from which – until now - the elderly have been largely absent.

For more information: www.cepal.org/en/topics/ageing