Ageing a social problem?

Press, 24 February 1987, Page 18

Ageing a social problem?

NZPA-Reuter Geneva The . industrialised world could face serious social problems as shrinking work forces are called on to support growing numbers of old-age pensioners, the International Labour Organisation (1.L.0.) has said. People in advanced nations were living longer, retiring earlier, and becoming more of a social responsibility for working men and women who had to help maintain them through social security contributions, the United Nations agency said. “The ageing of the population- is a general phenomenon in advanced countries that could have serious repercussions in the years to come,” it added. In 1985 there were 156 million people in industrialised States aged 60 or over and not working — mainly pensioners, housewives and handicapped people — compared with 60 million in 1950. The number could soar to nearly 290 million by the year 2025, the 1.L.0.’s Statistics Bureau said. The figures it quoted covered North America, Japan, Europe — includ-

ing the Soviet Union — and Australia and New, Zealand. The working population in these regions was likely to 'rise negligibly and would probably start to decline from the turn of the century so that many , developed countries might have a smaller work force in 2025 than in 2000, the 1.L.0. said. “These two opposing trends will have a dramatic impact on the ratio of the older group to the. active population, which was 156 for every 1000 workers in 1950 in the world’s developed regions, but could reach 455 for

every 1000 in 2025. ~ . “It means that social welfare Will weigh heavily on the generations at work in the years to come,” the 1.L.0. said. "More and more of the fruits l of tomorrow’s labour and the capital assets now being accumulated will have to be devoted to social security, particularly 'pensions, by all nations characterised by population ageing. “The search for viable and realistic solutions may be difficult and will require the, concerted efforts of governments, employers and workers,” the 1.L.0. said.