Focuses on social exclusion among the elderly (defined as the 55 + age group) in the EU's member States. Suggests that in all countries, poor health is an important factor increasing the risk of social exclusion.

Combating social exclusion is one of the key objectives of pension systems. This report focuses on social exclusion among the elderly (defined as the 55 age group) in the EU's member states. Social exclusion has been conceptualised as a state of individuals in relation to four dimensions. Two of these dimensions - material deprivation and social rights - are of a structural nature. The other two - social participation and normative integration - pertain to social settings and subcultural factors. Theoretically and empirically, the dimensions refer to one latent underlying social exclusion variable. The original method for measuring social exclusion was devised and tested for the Netherlands, making use of a dedicated dataset. In this study, the measuring instrument has been extended to EU member states, performing secondary analyses of various surveys. These datasets do not contain information about normative integration, but for each of the other three dimensions it has turned out to be possible to construct valid indices at the EU level. Two indices that are more general have been calculated as well: one is a combined index of material deprivation plus social rights and the other is a macro aggregate covering all three dimensions. The outcomes suggest that the elderly in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands are the least excluded, in terms of both the three separate dimensions of social exclusion and the more general indices. The Continental and Anglo-Saxon countries follow close behind. Social exclusion among the elderly is generally higher in the Mediterranean countries. The highest social exclusion scores are to be found in the EU's new member states in Eastern Europe, especially in the Baltic States and Poland. In all EU member states exclusion in terms of social participation increases as people grow older. Material deprivation shows the reverse pattern: in almost all countries, this form of social exclusion decreases with age. With regard to access to social rights - operationalised here in terms of adequate housing and access to medical/dental care - the picture is less straightforward. In nearly all Mediterranean and Eastern European countries, the elderly are more excluded than are the non-elderly in this respect. In the Nordic countries, Germany and the UK, the opposite occurs: access to social rights improves with rising age. In all countries, poor health is an important factor increasing the risk of social exclusion across all dimensions. Household income has a strong effect on material deprivation and access to social rights in most countries. Age and gender cannot be considered serious risk factors for any of the dimensions of social exclusion after the impact of other variables has been controlled for. Multilevel analyses show that only a small part of the country variation in social exclusion (as measured by the combined index) can be attributed to differences in the composition of the population in connection with health, education level, age and gender. A larger part is related to country differences in household incomes. A further (albeit rather small) part has to do with specific traits at the country level. Elderly persons are less excluded if countries attain a higher level of national wealth, spend more on social protection, show less income inequality and generate higher life expectancy. Diverging institutional arrangements - as defined by a classification of countries by their social security and pension regimes - also explain some of the variation in social exclusion. After controlling for the impact of income inequality, however, this effect largely disappears. This result suggests that such regime types mainly influence social exclusion indirectly, through their effects on income inequality. The latter is the country trait with the highest unique contribution to social exclusion of the elderly in the EU.

Drawing on interdisciplinary, cross-national perspectives, this open access book contributes to the development of a coherent scientific discourse on social exclusion of older people. The book considers five domains of exclusion (services; economic; social relations; civic and socio-cultural; and community and spatial domains), with three chapters dedicated to analysing different dimensions of each exclusion domain. The book also examines the interrelationships between different forms of exclusion, and how outcomes and processes of different kinds of exclusion can be related to one another. In doing so, major cross-cutting themes, such as rights and identity, inclusive service infrastructures, and displacement of marginalised older adult groups, are considered. Finally, in a series of chapters written by international policy stakeholders and policy researchers, the book analyses key policies relevant to social exclusion and older people, including debates linked to sustainable development, EU policy and social rights, welfare and pensions systems, and planning and development. The book’s approach helps to illuminate the comprehensive multidimensionality of social exclusion, and provides insight into the relative nature of disadvantage in later life. With 77 contributors working across 28 nations, the book presents a forward-looking research agenda for social exclusion amongst older people, and will be an important resource for students, researchers and policy stakeholders working on ageing.

SHARE is an international survey designed to answer the societal challenges that face us due to rapid population ageing. How do we Europeans age? How will we do economically, socially and healthwise? How are these domains interrelated? The authors of this multidisciplinary book have taken a further big step towards answering these questions based on the recent SHARE data in order to support policies for an inclusive society.

This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism. The book represents a collaborative effort of researchers from over 20 countries and a variety of disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, gerontology, geriatrics, pharmacology, law, geography, design, engineering, policy and media studies. The contributors have collaborated to produce a truly stimulating and educating book on ageism which brings a clear overview of the state of the art in the field. The book serves as a catalyst to generate research, policy and public interest in the field of ageism and to reconstruct the image of old age and will be of interest to researchers and students in gerontology and geriatrics.

This report contains the second generation of National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion which have been prepared by the Member States and constitute a strong political acknowledgement, three years after the Lisbon Summit, of the continuing challenge to ensure social inclusion across the European Union.

Taking a broad international perspective, this highly topical book casts light on patterns and processes that either place groups of older adults at risk of exclusion or are conducive to their inclusion.