This book examines ageing trends across the continent, analysing individual and collective variables that affect the lives of older adults, and drawing salient comparisons with other parts of the world. An interdisciplinary panel of experts provides theory, research, and empirical findings (with examples from the UK, Cyprus, Sweden, and others) in key areas such as family and social supports, physical and cognitive changes, dependence and autonomy issues, and living arrangements.

To promote an international exchange on the instruments, themes and implications of research-based reporting on ageing, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) organised a conference entitled “Changing Images of Ageing – International Perspectives for a Future-Oriented Policy on Senior Citizens and Generations”. The conference pursued the objective of stimulating exchanges on instruments of social reporting on ageing policy as developed and practised in various different countries. The proceedings are now available online.

This book, edited by Gustavo de Santis, touches upon a few of the major challenges that all modern societies will have to face in the near future: how to set up a resilient pay-as-you-go pension system; whether the current balance between expenses and revenues in social expenditure is viable in the future, and, if not, what changes need to be introduced; whether the relative well-being of the current and future cohorts of the old will be preserved, and how their standards of living compare to those experienced by the old in the recent past.