Report by the Economic Policy Committee on budgetary challenges posed by ageing populations: the impact on public spending on pensions, health and long-term care for the elderly and possible indicators of the long-term sustainability of public finances

The report, established at the request of the Ecofin Council, reviews national projections of the impact of ageing on public expenditure on pensions, health care and long-term care for the elderly up to the year 2050, and puts forward possible indicators to examine the overall long-term sustainability of public finances on the basis of these projections. It identifies some key challenges stemming from the large changes in the size and composition of the population in all the Member States in the coming decades. It brings together the work undertaken in 2000 and 2001 by a working group on ageing populations attached to the Economic Policy Committee. This group is made up of experts from national administrations, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the OECD.