"We can measure intergenerational fairness"

"Perhaps we are not seeing the big challenges that lie ahead", said FutuRes Head of Research Prof. Arnstein Aassve at the AGE Annual Conference 2025 in "Intergenerational Solidarity in Europe". In view of demographic projections of the next decades, Prof. Aassve started by reminding the participants that the commonly known age-"pyramid" will slowly move into an age-"pole" or "column" towards the end of the century: a distribution where all age groups will have roughly the same size. This change results in several policy challenges:

1. to create a sustainable pension system. Prof. Aassve presented several policy projections, all of which suggested a challenge to keep pension systems from creating a massive burden for younger generations.

2. a "minority" of younger people, who already tend to participate less in elections.

3. longevity inequality. "Older age is not the same for everyone. The gap in life expectance of those with higher and lower education has been getting larger."

To support policymakers with an evidence-based tool, Prof. Aassve suggested to measure intergenerational fairness. The development of such indices, he underlined, is a work in progress, which is being conducted in exchange with the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness. Prof. Aassve presented a suggestion for an index containing the criteria economic fairness, accessibility to public goods, and relational equality.

FutuRes is grateful to our partner AGE Platform Europe for dedicating their Annual Conference to Intergenerational Solidarity in Europe and for the invitation. 

High-level speakers included:

Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, Director General for DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture; MEP Idoia Mendia, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament; MEP Michał Szczerba, Group of the European People's Party; Deša Srsen, Member of Cabinet, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport

AGE Platform has contributed to the FutuRes Policy Lab, the Myth Busts, the Citizen Workshop and the report on policies against ageism.