The Council of Ministers Resolution 14/2024 was published on 12 January 2024, approving the Active and Healthy Ageing Action Plan 2023-2026.
I believe that a plan that focuses on ageing rather than longevity is unlikely to change the existing paradigm. As stated in the European Strategy for Older People published in July 2023 by the European Economic and Social Committee: "The new EU policies must lead to a paradigm shift, giving visibility to older people, replacing the vision of care with that of empowerment and eliminating ageist visions." What is the existing paradigm and why should it be so?
What is the existing paradigm and why is it necessary to change?
Society's current paradigm is based on an outdated model, in which society is built around a demographic pyramid that no longer exists. The Action Plan recognises that the increase in life expectancy has not been accompanied by an improvement in well-being. But instead of focussing on the vision of longevity and the empowerment people need to prepare for retirement, it is based on a vision of ageing.
Ageing is an inevitable process that begins at birth. Longevity is a civilisational achievement that allows people to live for many years after retirement. In Portugal, we live less than in most European countries, but the fact is that there is now the possibility of living around a third of our lives after reaching the age of 65. Given this life expectancy, we need to prepare ourselves to live long lives.
The crux of the matter
It is therefore important to act and prepare a society that is progressively ageing. So how should we prepare? How do we plan and prepare for retirement? Can we maintain the standard of living we enjoyed during our working lives? Are people financially literate enough to know how to save, invest and finance their retirement?
Unfortunately not. The Eurobarometer published in July 2023 shows that Portugal ranks second to last among European countries in terms of financial knowledge.
The question is: how can the Action Plan ignore the fact that financial and digital skills are essential to enable people to plan and prepare for retirement so that they are not led into processes of impoverishment and social exclusion?
There are many dimensions to exclusion, but the first is financial and digital exclusion. It is necessary to promote financial education, transfer knowledge, change attitudes and behaviours so that people can make secure and financially correct decisions.
Gaps in the Action Plan
Analysing the Plan shows that this deficit in the financial literacy of older people is not taken into account. The Plan is based on 6 pillars, of which I will analyse Pillars III, V and VI, as they are the ones that should include financial education.
PILLAR III - Development and lifelong learning
The measures focused on here are: initial training to acquire skills (it doesn't say which ones), digital training (measure 4) and support for civil society programmes, such as senior universities, among others. If digital training is important, financial training is no less important, as it creates awareness, knowledge and skills in people that allow them to have secure attitudes and correct financial behaviour. This should include financial education.
PILLAR V - Income and the Ageing Economy
It recognises the need to guarantee adequate incomes throughout life, with particular emphasis on after retirement age, in order to combat poverty and meet the needs of the elderly. But it's clear that it's not enough to guarantee income to combat poverty. What is needed is to give people financial training so that they can manage their retirement in a sustainable way.
Sub-pillar II of Pillar V presents senior entrepreneurship as a measure to be taken. But how can we promote entrepreneurship without promoting financial empowerment? A measure should have been added - financial training, because it is impossible to encourage senior entrepreneurship without financial training.
PILLAR VI - Participation in society
Focuses on empowering seniors. However, the activities mentioned do not promote empowerment. What is presented are leisure activities, such as participation in general rehearsals, choirs, theatre, workshops, museums, etc...
What's missing? Empowerment activities, which are factors in positive individual and social transformation! The promotion of financial literacy, which would materialise through financial education courses, should have been added as a measure.
In conclusion: legislation will only be a transformative element if it includes the empowerment of people, namely financial and digital training. For people to be able to plan and prepare for retirement, it is crucial that they are more digitally competent and financially empowered.
