Dependent Seniors: Improved Well-Being, New Expenses, and New Funding

In the future, the population aging shock will lead to the big baby boom generations reaching the age of loss of autonomy. Meeting this challenge, while improving the well-being of dependent older people, requires rethinking policies related to the loss of autonomy; in particular, staffing rates in nursing homes, salaries of care providers, and benefits for informal caregivers have to be increased. Additional spending is estimated at around 20 billion euros by 2030, 30 billion by 2040. To ensure harmony between generations and avoid penalizing the younger generations, this funding effort could be based on compulsory long-term care insurance for people older than 40 and on the substantial assets accumulated by senior citizens.