Signal Prospective old-age threshold in Spain rising from 65 (1970) to 76 (2050)

Summary

The report applies to Spain the criterion proposed by Lutz and colleagues, under which old age begins at the age when remaining life expectancy drops below 15 years. On that basis, someone counted as old at 65 in 1970 would only reach the same category at 76 in 2050, a threshold eleven years later. The measure is prospective, gauging old age by the years still ahead rather than by a fixed birthday. A chart in the report tracks this threshold from 1950 to 2050 for Europe, Japan, Spain and the United States. The report sees the fixed 65 cutoff as blind to gains in longevity and quality of life, and uses the figure to expose that gap. Once this view is adopted, projected harm from ageing to long-run growth also becomes considerably smaller.