The role of the elderly in their families – Future challenges

The increasing share of older and elderly people is often equated with an increase in old age dependency ratio. The focus on the old age dependency ratio, however, is misleading in two ways:  First, elderly people are not only receivers of transfers and support. They provide support such as grandchild care and elderly care themselves. Second, the old age dependency ratio is not set in stone. Welfare states can adapt to increasing longevity and healthy life years, e.g. increasing labour force participation rates of older workers.

However, there is much uncertainty about the role of the elderly in the future. On the one hand, the family is subject to change and more heterogeneous than in former decades. What the role of the elderly in their families will be depends largely on family structures and how strong solidarity is in the “new families”. On the other hand, welfare state policies influence the role of the elderly, e.g. public child care and elderly care services can substitute for family care or legal obligations can enforce family support. Policies to increase older workers and female labour force participation rates limit their time available for informal care and volunteering.

At first, we discuss the role of the elderly in their families in European countries. We focus on family structure, family life and developments in welfare state policies. Second, we discuss future challenges for welfare states and families:  How do family structures change and what can be the impact on the role of the elderly in the next decades? What effects have recent trends in welfare state policies on the role of the elderly in the future? Finally, we suggest different policy measures to cope with future challenges.