Economics of longevity: over 14 million Italians to be included in the development

Economics of longevity: over 14 million Italians to be included in the development

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The traditional study, work and retirement classification no longer exists. Life expectancy is growing, births are falling and the number of over sixties is also increasing, following a trend which, in the long run, could cause the social security system to collapse. But the course can still be reversed both by creating spaces for flexibility for those who want to continue working, and by also using the other levers that can move from the integration into the job of neets, young people who don’t study and don’t work. The picture was outlined during the Longevity Economy Forum 2023 promoted with Eventi 24 of Il Sole 24 Ore in collaboration with Kpmg.

A third of the over 60s will remain active

During the event – followed in person and remotely by over 900 people – also the presentation of the study in which it emerges that the “over-60s are willing to continue to make contributions to the world of work”. Not only that, over a third of the over-60s will continue to stay active by staying or returning to the world of work, or by dedicating themselves to volunteering. A scenario which, as underlined by the director of the Sole 24 ore Fabio Tamburini, can be seen as a «glass half full and half empty». “We are dealing with a subject that has many facets”. Because compared to a few decades ago there has been a strong change. It is no coincidence that Giulio Carlo of his partner Kpmg underlined that “currently life expectancy is 83 years and is expected to be 85 in 2040. With the consequence that from 14 million we will go to 19 million over 65s”. “Our population structure is also changing due to the low birth rate” because the long-lived are increasing and the numbers of people of working age are decreasing. “The most interesting phenomenon is that the long-lived are in good health – he added -, they have important personal and work experience and they want to get back into the game”.

End of breakdown: training, work, retirement

Professor Lynda Gratton also underlined the change, underlining the important contribution that the over 60s can bring to society. It is no coincidence that Anna Giuliani, president of Solgar Italia, in addition to underlining the importance of nutrition in longevity, highlighted “the important contribution that people over 65 can bring to companies”. It is precisely in this area that regulatory interventions would be needed, as underlined by Mariuccia Rossini, President of the Silver Economy Network. “Let’s think of a tax exemption of pensions as occurs in other contexts – you said – and also a passage to make the transition from full-time work to retirement or for those who want to return to the company more flexible”. Giuseppe Lavazza, president of the homonymous group underlined the importance of people and the need to “have a vision in which the individual is at the center of everything” as well as hoping for a review of the social security system.

New Intesa Sanpaolo services

In this change there is also another slice of people who travel in the wake of the over 60s. This is, as told by Alessandro Scarfò, managing director of Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura, 800,000 caregivers. “Families, which have been the backbone of the country, are declining, because many children have to stay away because they work outside – he added – this is certainly an element of attention”. And it is precisely in this area that a series of interventions are focused that range from financial and welfare instruments to neighborhoods because the fear of the elderly is due to loneliness.

Alessandro Rosina, full professor of demography, argued that the world is changing abruptly following a trend which, from an economic point of view, can be reversed. “The foundations on which the economy as we have always known it are changing. And you have to find solutions on which you have to experiment – he said -. It is the most pronounced challenge. At the base there are two components: longevity and a falling birth rate which reduces the younger population and changes the relationship between the generations». And it is possible to intervene on these processes, as added by the university professor, also by inserting the 3 million NEETs into the world of work, that is, young people who do not study and do not work. “We are able to avoid the catastrophic scenario – he added -. If we move all the levers in the same direction we can reverse a course that otherwise becomes unsustainable». In this race, some steps have already been taken at the regulatory level, as reiterated by the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policies Maria Teresa Bellucci, who recalled the measures to support social policies and in favor of the elderly and the quality of life beyond that for self-sufficiency” and the role of the third sector: “is strategic and we have demonstrated it since the drafting of the delegation law with a representative involved in the preparation of the text brought to parliament”.

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