Introduction to the Special Issue on Ageing

The global demographic landscape is experiencing an unprecedented shift, with the proportion of individuals aged 65 and older projected to rise from 10 percent in 2022 to over 16 percent by 2050 reported in the World Population Prospects 2022 (UNDESA, 2022). This ageing trend presents a defining yet underestimated challenge for policymakers and researchers. While discussions on ageing have traditionally focused on healthcare, dependency, and social security, this special issue underscores a critical yet underexplored dimension — the productive potential of older individuals and the socio-economic implications of ageing. The notion of a longevity bonus, where individuals live longer and healthier lives, demands a shift from viewing ageing as a burden to recognizing it as an opportunity for sustained economic contribution.

This special issue addresses the policy inertia surrounding ageing populations, urging a reconsideration of current retirement, welfare, and labour force policies. Rather than merely mitigating the potential adverse effects of ageing, this special issue advocates for a policy redesign that fosters healthy, active, and productive ageing. This includes post-retirement participation in the labour market through entrepreneurship, mentoring, volunteering, and part-time employment, alongside critical considerations of pension reforms, digital inclusion, and workplace adaptation for an ageing workforce.

This special issue brings together nine articles that collectively offer a multidimensional view of ageing and productivity. The contributions draw on diverse methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, policy analysis) and geographical perspectives (Europe, Asia, and the USA) to explore key themes such as workforce participation, entrepreneurship, pension sustainability, and digital inclusion. The following section summarizes the articles, highlighting their key contributions to policy planning and research.

The first article, “Pre-retirement, retirement, and post-retirement: policy considerations and consequences” by Roland Bardy, provides an overarching analysis of retirement policies and their implications for individual well-being and national economies. It argues that many existing policies are based on outdated life expectancy assumptions and fail to account for the increasing willingness and capacity of older individuals to remain economically active. Ignoring the longer healthy life expectancies and individuals’ desire for continued meaningful engagement with society also inadvertently triggered a more significant fiscal burden and societal chasm. This study calls for flexible retirement policies, phased retirement options, and incentives for post-retirement work to balance individual preferences with economic sustainability. The article also explores how knowledge transfer, digital literacy, and voluntary engagement can be viable post-retirement activities.

The second article, “Emeriti Professors as entrepreneurs” by Raymond Saner, examines the role of retired university professors in undertaking entrepreneurship, mentorship, and consultancy as pathways for meaningful post-retirement engagement. Through a comparative analysis of academic retirement policies across different countries, the study finds that Emeriti Professors, when provided with institutional support, can significantly contribute to knowledge transfer, business innovation, and policy advising. The study also highlights how competence obsolescence, or the perceived sudden decline in professional expertise due to retirement, can be countered through creative entrepreneurial and advisory roles. It argues that institutional policies should facilitate and encourage the continued professional involvement of retired academics, enabling societies to harness their expertise for mentoring younger generations and addressing human capital shortages. This proposed post-retirement role is particularly vital for economies experiencing skill deficits, where experienced professionals can contribute to workforce development and capacity-building efforts. The article also calls for a critical re-examination of ageist perceptions embedded in workplace structures that undervalue the ongoing contributions of older professionals.

The third article, “Workforce aging, labour productivity, and digital empowerment in Europe” by Iñigo Calvo-Sotomayor and Ekhi Atutxa, explores the relationship between workforce ageing and labour productivity in Europe. While ageing is often associated with declining productivity, the study highlights that sectoral shifts toward knowledge-intensive industries and digital empowerment can counteract this trend. The article suggests that investing in digital skills training and workplace flexibility can help older workers maintain productivity, thus mitigating the economic consequences of an ageing workforce. In this regard, the lifelong learning policy needs to be better enforced as a proactive approach in dealing with population ageing and potential loss of productivity. Equally important, such educational policies will safeguard the effective adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution without the exclusion effect on some older populations due to the deeper integration of digital technology in day-to-day life.

The fourth article provides a fiscal analysis of ageing in Belgium, focusing on pension costs and healthcare expenditures. The findings indicate that without significant reforms, pension costs will continue to rise at an unsustainable rate. The study suggests policy measures such as adjusting retirement eligibility, incentivizing longer workforce participation, and optimizing healthcare spending efficiency to manage the economic burden of ageing populations. In this context, the concept of the silver economy must evolve beyond its current consumption-driven model to include pathways for the voluntary participation of older individuals in the workforce as employees, entrepreneurs, or consultants. By enabling those willing and able to continue contributing to the national economy, societies can not only alleviate some of the fiscal pressures associated with an ageing population but also harness the expertise and productivity of older adults to drive economic growth.

The fifth article, “Staying physically fit and economically active: recipe for a high-quality life and well-being after retirement in the Czech Republic” by Ondřej Dvouletý, draws on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to examine how economic activity and physical health influence well-being in post-retirement life. The findings indicate that continued employment, whether part-time or through self-employment, significantly enhances life satisfaction and financial security. The study advocates for policies encouraging gradual retirement transitions and active ageing strategies to support well-being. This policy recommendation echoes the views represented in the articles authored by Bardy and Saner and provides specific evidence from the Czech Republic for other countries to consider.

The sixth article, “Experiences, challenges, and prospects of promoting digital inclusion of the elderly in China”, by Yifan Yang, Zhiyi Xie, Junhao Pan and Yufan Cheng, examines digital inclusion policies and initiatives targeting elderly populations in China. It identifies key barriers, such as digital literacy gaps, limited access to digital infrastructure, generational resistance to technology and poorly designed user interfaces, as key factors for age exclusion in digital participation. The study highlights best practices in public and private sector initiatives and calls for integrated policy approaches that enhance digital access and literacy among older individuals, enabling them to remain economically and socially engaged. The article introduces a Three-Level Digital Divide Model offering a structured approach to analyzing and addressing digital exclusion. The case study of China illustrates the necessity of cross-sector collaboration to bridge digital divides arising from age-insensitive digital design, inadequate infrastructure investment, and the lack of capacity-building opportunities and arrangements for older adults with low educational attainment to learn more successfully.

The seventh article, “Working conditions and organizational practices to support well-being of multiage workforce in Germany, USA, Japan, and South Korea” by Jürgen Diller, Xiuzhu Gu, Su Jung Choi and Anne Marit Wöhrmann introduces the Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI), a tool designed to assess and improve workplace practices for continued support of older employees. It demonstrates how workplace flexibility, leadership support, and ergonomic adaptations can enhance job satisfaction, productivity, and retention rates among ageing workers. As ageing societies face significant workforce shortages that cannot be fully offset by younger generations, especially in countries where migration is not a politically viable solution and automation has limitations, fostering age-friendly work environments becomes increasingly critical. The study provides comparative insights from the tool development work undergone in Germany, the USA, Japan, and South Korea, highlighting the necessary cultural adaptations involved in developing a globally applicable yet locally relevant measurement tool. It advocates for cross-cultural policy learning and adopting a standardized global indexing methodology to support evidence-based policymaking in workplace adaptation for ageing workforces.

The eighth article, “A comparative study of Elderly Care Acts of India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh: policy learning for other countries” by Nusrat Jahan Chowdhury and Aaqib Zahid, examines elderly care legislation in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, assessing their strengths and shortcomings in terms of comprehensiveness, fairness, and avenues for redress. It identifies notable gaps in similarly targeted legislation across these three culturally similar nations, all of which share comparable levels of economic development. The study finds that while all three countries recognize familial responsibility as a key pillar of elderly care, the enforcement mechanisms and institutional frameworks governing these laws vary significantly. To enhance the effectiveness of elderly care legislation, the article calls for greater state accountability, clearer maintenance provisions, and stronger enforcement mechanisms. Countries of comparable circumstances across other regions sharing similar concerns could undertake similar studies before establishing the legal framework for elderly care. This study could provide insights from established laws and practices and enhance meaningful policy learning, especially when the social provision system is non-existent or immature.

The book review by Albert Lee provides a critical assessment of Ageing, Long-Term Care Insurance, and Healthcare Finance in Asia by Sabrina C.Y. Luk, highlighting its contributions to the discourse on healthcare financing models and ageing-related policy challenges in Asia. The book explores diverse approaches to healthcare funding, including tax-based systems, social and private health insurance, and mandatory savings schemes, illustrating their varied implications for ageing societies. Through country/region-specific analyses — including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea — the book identifies key financing challenges such as funding deficits, high out-of-pocket costs, fragmented risk pooling, and resistance to policy reform. Luk argues that while universal health coverage is a crucial foundation, it is not a panacea for long-term care financing, emphasizing the need for sustainable healthcare investment, interdisciplinary primary care, and community-based models. His review situates these insights within broader ageing policy debates and highlights areas for further research on holistic, integrated care frameworks that can effectively support ageing populations.