THE CARE WAVE AND THE FUTURE OF THE BABY BOOMERS AND THEIR CHILDREN

ongoing

The baby boomers are in the process of retiring. Most are between 60 and 65 when they retire and almost 80% self-assess their health as good. A huge number of research projects has analyzed retirement decisions and the impact of this “pension wave” on the transformation of pension systems in the ageing societies in Europe and elsewhere. There is no lack of pension finance projections and policy advice for pension reforms and their socio-economic effects, including active ageing and the role of elder citizens in transforming our economies into “silver economies”. Much less is known about the second great transformation that will follow the pension wave. In the mid2030s, the health of the baby boomers will have deteriorated and many in these large cohorts will be in need of formal and/or informal long-term care. This “care wave” will transform two generations: the baby boomers in need of care and their children who may supply care. It will have significant implications for labour supply, especially for women, saving behaviour, and therefore for productivity, economic growth and its inclusiveness. The overarching objective of BB-Future is to make a concerted effort to understand the size and the implications of the care wave on economic and social outcomes, to appreciate the quality of this second ageing-related transformation and to develop policy recommendations for advance planning on the EU and MS levels.