The second wave of data in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) has recently become available. SHARE was created for the European Council to have a more systematic database on population ageing across Europe. This multidisciplinary and cross-national survey provides information that can help researchers and policy makers better understand the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population. The need for such a survey was felt because Europe is facing the potential problem of an under-utilised ageing population. In fact, the ratio of older people to total population is higher in Europe than in any other continent.

The first wave of data from SHARE was collected in 2004/2005 from 11 European countries while this second wave of collected data came from 15 countries and around 35,000 individuals over 2006/2007. All through 2008 the third wave of data collection started, this time with the addition of another country, Slovenia. SHARE was partly funded by the 5th, 6th and 7th EU Research DG framework programmes with contributions from the participating countries and the US National Institute on Ageing.

A number of interesting points have emerged from the latest SHARE data among which:

• Individuals in good health retire around two years later than the individual in poor health. In fact, if three per cent of labour income was spent in preventing poor health, this would be sufficient to self-finance itself by preserving employability. Hence, being proactive when it comes to the well being of the labour force not only makes ‘health sense’ but can also lead to financial saving.

• Working in a fulfilling environment is strongly related to the employee’s health and agreeable health conditions support late retirement.

• Countries that incentivise early retirement end up with a large unused labour capacity.

• Individuals with a lower level of education are 70 per cent more likely to be physically inactive and 50 per cent more likely to be obese than individuals with a higher level of education. This has potentially serious health repercussions that must be addressed immediately if we do not want to face the massive burden of an unhealthy ageing population.

• Education helps to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and therefore dependability in old age.

• Depression is more frequent among people with a lower socio-economic background. However, more depth is required to ascertain the dynamics of this relationship.

• There is a considerable lack of quality of care for older people, with studies suggesting that across Europe there is a paucity of geriatric assessments and screening tests.

• ‘The demise of the family is a myth’. Around one third of people over 65 are looking after their grandchildren on a daily basis. This is a reality we all have to face – the older generation is taking care of children whose parents form a large proportion of the current labour work force.

• ‘Intergenerational money transfer’ occurs throughout Europe with the younger generations helping the older generations in the south while the reverse occurs in the north.

• Overall, around 10 per cent of individuals aged over 50 do voluntary work. In Malta this figure is probably significantly higher.

Malta does not contribute directly to the data analysed in SHARE. However, we form part of the Europe that will be undergoing profound demographic changes in the forthcoming decades. Hence, a concerted effort must be made to better apply to our nation the experience acquired by other countries. We do not have to re-invent the wheel but rather adapt it to our environment, potholes and all. The elderly must be allowed to contribute more to our society. Locally, it is common knowledge that their contribution in the voluntary and family spheres is considerable. However, there is much more that can be done in the labour market. This is a scenario we have to face now rather than later. We are subject to the baby boom phenomenon of the post war era. Sitting on the problem will only compound it. Offering early retirement left, right and centre, although it might make commercial sense at present, will leave the nation with a severely under-utilised ageing population, one that will in turn become more and more dependent on the government to ensure its financial well-being.

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