Seminar on “Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe”
Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) of SHARE ERIC Bulgaria Consortium
On March 7, 2019, representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy held a seminar on “Research on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe” Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) of SHARE ERIC Bulgaria Consortium within the framework of the National Roadmap for Scientific Infrastructures 2017-2023 (AGREEMENT No. D01-162 / 28.08.2018 d)
As in the previous seminars on the project, the team of BAS-BAS presented the results dovatelskata network SHARE ERIC and work in Bulgaria under the Seventh and Eighth wave of the study. Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Ekaterina Markova focuses on the multidisciplinary character of SHARE and the extremely rich database of papers and publications which are provided for use by researchers and institutions.
Prof. Dr. Rumyana Stoilova thanked Zlatina Karova, Head of Transnational Research Initiatives at the Science Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science, who attended the seminar and used the occasion to highlight the role of the Ministry of Education, which properly assessed the value of this scientific infrastructure and helped us to join as a participating country, as well as the recognition of our team as a leader in the field of the studied issues by interested Bulgarian institutions. In view of the particular audience, Prof. Stoilova emphasizes the unused labor and financial potential of people over 50 years of age. One of the recommendations in this direction is to work to raise the financial culture of this part of the Bulgarian population. He noted that, thanks to the research methodology, information about the attitudes of interviewees was combined with data on their health, which could be very useful in developing different government policies and institutional measures for people over 50+ years.
Prof. Gabriela Yordanova told the experts of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy about the specifics of the field work of the study conducted during the Seventh Wave, and Assoc. Prof. Vasil Kirov focused on the new moments that were laid in the Eighth Eighth Prepared for 2019 wave – time budget study, new tests on cognitive abilities, assessment of savings and investment opportunities, special module dedicated to health – prevention, health literacy, additional health insurance.
Dr. Ekaterina Markova provoked the audience with the five “myths” in connection with the aging of the population, which do not always correspond to the actual processes in the society: that the elderly should not work because they are no longer healthy; that they are less effective at the workplace; that life after retirement is seamless; that by remaining on the labor market they are an obstacle to the entry and realization of younger generations; on the occasion of the growing alarming demographic changes, stressed that it is better to explore them in order to get acquainted – this will allow their negative effects to be mitigated. He also described some of the policies developed and implemented in different countries on the basis of the SHARE results.
On behalf of the MLSP college, Dr. Temenujka Zlatanova, Head of the Department of Living and Demographic Policy, thanked for the useful presentation. Undoubtedly, the richness of the information presented requires more careful consideration and orientation in the research and analysis opportunities provided by the research network. Some of the participants immediately appreciated the issues of early retirement, respectively positives and negatives as well as long-term care, as interesting and useful. This was a fruitful beginning for future joint work.