Study finds poverty risk higher for elderly Europeans, especially women
Figures from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2008 dataset reveal that Europeans aged 65 years and over face a higher poverty risk rate (19%), compared to the total average population (17%). Results vary considerably for the 27 EU Member States, with older people facing the highest poverty risk rate in Latvia (51%) and the lowest risk rate in Hungary (4%). These statistics and subsequent conclusions are published in a policy brief prepared by the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (ECSWPR) in Austria. ECSWPR Director of Research Dr Asghar Zaidi explains in the brief that the 19% figure represents 'about 16 million older people [being] at risk of poverty, approximating one-in-five of all 85 million older people living in EU countries.' What does and does not constitute poverty, points out Dr Zaidi, is a relative concept. A commonly accepted approach in generating statistics such as these by EU-SILC (and an approach adopted by the European Commission in recent reports) is to use household income as a measurement. Individuals struggling with poverty are defined as those that are living in households where disposable income is below the 60% threshold of the national median income. 'Given the arbitrary nature of the poverty threshold in use, and the fact that having an income below this threshold is just one indication of having a low standard of living, this indicator is referred to as a measure of at-risk-of-poverty,' highlights Dr Zaidi, who authored the publication. Based on this measurement, 10 of the 27 EU Member States recorded lower-than-average poverty risk rates for older people (16% or less), including the Czech Republic (7%) and Luxembourg (5%). Dr Zaidi explains that the low rate among older people for some of these countries can be partly attributed to 'a mature and generous system of basic pension incomes, and partly due to large redistributive elements in the earnings-related pension benefits, such as those available in the form of guaranteed minimum pensions'. A total of 9 EU countries registered close-to-average poverty risk rates (18%-23%) and the remaining 8 countries recorded higher-than-average poverty risk rates (greater than 25%). Countries in the latter category include Cyprus (49%), Estonia (39%) and Bulgaria (34%). The figures indicate that for the majority of EU countries there has been no significant change to the poverty risk rates for older citizens over the last five years. For Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, however, the risk rate has increased considerably. Two other exceptions were recorded for Ireland and Portugal, where poverty risk rates had clearly dropped. The statistics show that the risk of poverty for older European women is on average 6% higher than the rate for older European men (22% and 16% respectively). Except for Spain and the UK, the author notes that all countries with poverty risk rates that are greater than the EU average have noticeably higher poverty risk rates for older women. This is particularly true for older women in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. With regard to this issue, Dr Zaidi explains that pension reforms in many countries have resulted in an increase in the statutory retirement age and an improvement in work incentives. These changes, he says, are likely to have 'the positive impact of longer working careers, and improved pension rights, for future generations of older women'. These and other issues will be analysed further in a subsequent policy brief.
Countries
Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, United Kingdom