Costs for caring for elderly could triple by 2050

Aging populations will cause spending on care for the elderly to double or even triple by 2050 in the 34 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a new report by the organization.


OECD said people over age 80 will represent an average of 10 percent of OECD nations by 2050, "up sharply" from 4 percent in 2010 and less than 1 percent in 1950. In some nations the percentage of elderly will be even higher: 17 percent in Japan and 15 percent in Germany by 2050.


That means spending will go up as a percentage of gross domestic spending.


"Spending on long-term care, which now accounts for 1.5 percent of GDP on average across the OECD, will rise accordingly. Sweden and the Netherlands today spend the most, at 3.5 percent and 3.6 percent respectively of GDP, while Portugal (0.1 percent), the Czech Republic (0.2 percent) and the Slovak Republic (0.2 percent) 
spend the least," according to the OECD report.


The report cautioned that governments need to take steps to make long-term care policies more affordable and 
"provide better support for family careers and professionals."


There is not only a need for more long-term care workers, but also a need to increase wages because the current low wages creates turnover in workers, according to the report.


“With costs rising fast, countries must get better value for money from their spending on long-term care,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. “The piecemeal policies in place in many countries must be overhauled in order to boost productivity and support family careers who are the backbone of long-term care systems.”


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