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Approximately 20% of the population of
the Basque Country are over the age of
65 and receive a pension. Basque society
is now made up of more old people than
young people. The statistics clearly reveal
an aging society in which senior citizens
are becoming an increasingly important
sector, and that there are people who
think that social policy, health care and
many other resources should be reorganised
in accordance with their needs.
However, there is little information
available in regard to the living conditions
and needs of pensioners and the elderly.
There are no studies showing how they live,
what their concerns and needs are or what
they want, and it will therefore be difficult
to put the proper solutions into effect.
The aim of the present
study is to make up for these shortcomings. An overall snapshot
has been taken of the needs of the Basque Country’s pensioners
and elderly people, and a report has been drawn up seeking to
outline effective policies.
The Ipar Hegoa foundation has used three sources of information.
Firstly, it has carried out a survey of people over 65 and
pensioners. |
It has also compiled data from a number of organisations:
EUSTAT (Basque Statistics Office), INE (National Statistics
Institute), INSS (Spanish Social Security Office), INSEE (National
Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies), Gaindegia
(Observatory of the social and economic development of the
Basque Country). Finally, interviews have been conducted with
members of senior citizens’ associations and various experts in
the field.
For the purposes of collating and analysing this information,
the Ipar Hegoa foundation has used five basic indicators in relation
to pensioners and the elderly in The South Basque Country:
financial circumstances, health, home life and living conditions,
leisure pursuits, and lastly their perceptions, hopes and challenges.
The study analyses these one by one, dedicating a separate
chapter to each. First, a series of relevant statistics are
set out, including data concerning the pensions received. Living
conditions are then analysed, along with health and financial
circumstances. Lastly, the study registers the subjects’ ideological
and religious beliefs, as well as their views on the current
pensions system.
Having undertaken the analysis from these various angles,
the study concludes that half of the pensioners and elderly people
in the Basque Country live below the poverty line, with
monthly incomes of less than 715 euros. Almost half find it hard
to cover their basic needs, with women twice as likely
to suffer poverty.
According to the study, most of the elderly people
in The South Basque Country (91.6%) own their own
homes, while in The North Basque Country more than
half do (56.9%). But most of these homes are old, and
very few meet current standards of accessibility.
Most elderly people (83%) say that they live well
and are happy, and more than half consider their health
to be satisfactory and have no difficulty in coping
with everyday
life. Their level
of education is
low, more than
three-quarters
having only had
a basic or lower-level education.
The main concerns of
the elderly in the Basque
Country are health and the
family, and most are practising
Catholics. |
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