Promoting Active Ageing in Lithuania

1. Introduction

Lithuania is ageing rapidly. The ratio of the old-age population (65 years and older) to the population aged 15‑64 years will almost double from 32 individuals aged 65 and over for 100 persons in 2022 to nearly 60 by 2050, (Figure 1.1, Panel A). Rapid ageing coupled with high emigration will dramatically shrink the labour force over the next three decades with Lithuania facing the second largest drop in its working-age population in the EU27 following Latvia (Figure 1.1, Panel C). The workforce is also expected to age faster. The share of older workers (55‑64) in the working population is expected to rise from 23% in 2022 to 26% in 2050, compared to 22% in the EU27 (Figure 1.1, Panel B). The government projects ageing-related fiscal costs, including for pensions, health and long-term care, to rise from 15.3% of GDP in 2019 to 17.6% in 2060 (OECD, 2022[1]).

These trends will test the Lithuanian public administration to deliver public policies and services and to allocate public resources in the face of a major demographic change. The relative weight of older citizens will increase among voters, and so will their demand for resources and public services. At times of growing intergenerational divides in societies and global challenges such as climate change and digitalisation, creating conditions and opportunities for older people to participate in society, public and political life, the labour market, and strengthening intergenerational relations will be crucial.

Therefore, urgent action is needed in various policy domains captured under the Active Ageing principle including i) sustaining employability and access to lifelong learning at older ages, ii) enhancing their social inclusion, and iii) increasing their participation in public and political life to maintain growth, high living standards, and social cohesion in the Lithuanian society.

The European Commission defines active ageing as “helping people stay in charge of their own lives for as long as possible as they age and, where possible, to contribute to the economy and society” (Eurostat, 2020[2]). The Active Ageing Index (AAI) developed by the European Commission (DG EMPL) and UNECE is a tool to assess older people’s ability to control their own lives and (capacities for) participation in both society and the economy (UNECE/European Commission, 2019[3]). By covering various areas of the lives of older people, the AAI aims to capture this complexity. Based on the overall AAI, Lithuania ranks only 19^th in the European Union (Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.1. Lithuania will age faster than most EU and OECD countries

Note: OECD and EU27 are weighted averages.

Source: OECD Population Projections Database, http://stats.oecd.org//Index.aspx?QueryId=88954.

Figure 1.2. Lithuania scores well below average on the Active Ageing Index

Note: EU27 is an unweighted average.

The AAI contains four domains that have an equal weight: employment; social participation; independent, healthy and secure living; and capacity and enabling environment for active ageing. The first two domains cover various aspect of participation directly, the latter two domains assess the preconditions that need to be fulfilled for older people to realise participation.

Source: UNECE/European Commission (2019[3]), 2018 Active Ageing Index: Analytical Report, https://unece.org/population/publications/active-ageing-index-analytical-report.

This relatively low score is driven by the poor performance of Lithuania on several of the key sub-components of the AAI. In particular, older Lithuanians among the lowest access to lifelong learning in the EU (Figure 1.3, Panel A). The country’s limited opportunities for learning contributes to stark inequalities in the labour market. For instance, older workers without a degree have employment rates of 40%, compared to 80% for their higher-educated counterparts. This disparity, larger than the EU average, underscores the importance of lifelong learning in maintaining employability and adapting to evolving labour market demands, particularly for lower-skilled individuals.1

High social exclusion at older ages is another key issue concerning the active ageing in Lithuania (Figure 1.3, Panel B). The AAI indicates that the quality of life of older Lithuanians is relatively low and that the preconditions for its improvement in terms of independent, healthy and secure living, capacity and enabling environment currently are limited. Social participation drops sharply after age 65, especially among women. This is also reflected in the AAI, where Lithuania has the lowest score of the 23 European OECD countries included in the domain of social participation. COVID‑19 has exacerbated old-age exclusion as epidemic control measures that were taken to contain its spread and the higher risk of serious illness in older people has resulted in reduced opportunities for older people to participate in social activities. In addition to social participation itself, Lithuania also scores poorly in several domains that facilitate active participation of older people, including low income, poor health, and limited use of support (Section 2). This is reflected in the AAI dimension of independent, healthy and secure living, in which Lithuania has the third lowest score of the 23 OECD countries after Latvia and Greece (Figure 1.3, Panel C), and the lowest score in the domain of capacity and enabling environment for active ageing (Figure 1.3, Panel D).

Figure 1.3. Lithuania scores relatively low score in several dimensions of Active Ageing

Note: The green lines represent the unweighted average of the EU27 (Panels A-C) and EU28 (Panel D).

Source: UNECE / European Commission (2019[3]), 2018 Active Ageing Index: Analytical Report, https://unece.org/population/publications/active-ageing-index-analytical-report.

Finally, Lithuania faces a significant challenge in facilitating the involvement of its older citizens in public and political life, as presented in Chapter 3. Trust in government among this demographic is notably lower than the OECD average, 28% on average compared to 50% on average in 2021. Political participation in this group could be improved, for instance, the AAI shows that only 11% of older people attended a meeting of a political party, signed a petition, or contacted a politician or public official compared to the EU average of 19% and the OECD average of 20% in 2016 (UNECE/European Commission, 2019[3]). Furthermore, only 2.4% of those aged 55+ participated in voluntary activities such as community and social services in 2016 (UNECE/European Commission, 2019[3]).

Recognising these challenges, the government has put forward several strategies with the aim to tackle various barriers to improve livelihoods of older Lithuanians. Most notably, the National Strategy for Demography, Migration and Integration for 2018‑30, aims among others to provide opportunities for older people to integrate into society, participate in social and political life and in the labour market, and strengthen intergenerational relations. These goals are also reflected in the inter-institutional plan for the implementation of this strategy for 2020‑22. The National Progress Plan for 2021‑30, approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, emphasises improving the well-being of older people.

However, an overarching challenge for Lithuania is to unite various stakeholders around a holistic active ageing agenda with clear mandates and allocation of responsibilities to avoid fragmented delivery of public services across levels of government. While the active ageing agenda is chiefly co‑ordinated by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour at national level, subnational service provision related to active ageing, including physical and mental health care, aid at home, informal adult education and skilling programmes, may vary regionally and across municipalities and hence largely depends on local capacities (UNECE/European Commission, 2019[3]; OECD, 2021[4]). This requires reinforced co‑ordination and a more coherent approach between central and subnational stakeholders in the implementation of policies and programmes and delivery of services targeting older people in Lithuania.

A life‑cycle perspective can also help Lithuania strengthen their preparedness for rapid population ageing by taking steps to improve the health, skills of adults throughout their working lives, as recommended in the OECD Council Recommendation on Ageing and Employment Policies (OECD, 2015[5]), OECD Jobs Strategy (OECD, 2018[6]) and Preventing Ageing Unequally (OECD, 2017[7]).

The report is comprised of three chapters. The first presents the outcomes, challenges and policy recommendations in employment and lifelong learning. The second chapter focuses on social policy, presenting how to improve the integration of older people in social life. The final chapter outlines the strengths, challenges, and policy recommendations to increase the participation of senior citizens in public and political life. Each chapter proposes concrete policy steps to improve the outcomes of older citizens.

Note

← 1.  While according to the AAI, Lithuania performs well in terms of employment of older people, the index only considers employment rates for different age groups and does not take in account differences between older people such as by educational level or region, thereby hiding inequalities among important groups in the labour market.