Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

<strong>Draft</strong> <strong>first</strong> <strong>regional</strong> <strong>report</strong> on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development
Chapter III
C. Ageing, social protection and socioeconomic challenges
1. Introduction
Social protection refers to the set of actions that public and private entities undertake to ease the burden of
risks and needs borne by households and individuals throughout the life cycle (Cichon and others, 2004). The
term falls under the wider concept known as social risk management, which concerns the ability to prevent
and cope with vulnerable situations, understood to mean the likelihood that individuals or families will be
affected adversely by unexpected or unavoidable events (Serrano, 2005).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, wider access to social protection systems remains a challenge. The
region is the most unequal in the world in terms of income distribution; this is reflected in various aspects of
development, and social protection systems are no stranger to the phenomenon. In theory, social protection
should adapt not only to changes in the labour market and the economy in general, but also to the changing
population age structure. Social protection institutions in the region tend to be weak, although they play a
significant role in the overall performance of social protection systems and their ability to adapt to new realities
(Bertranou, 2006).
Adapting social protection systems to older persons involves integrating three basic pillars: pensions, basic
health care and social services that foster autonomy. The three pillars act in concert to close gaps in protection
and build capacities. 66 The pensions and health pillars are the minimum social standards that must serve as
a social protection threshold, which the State has the direct responsibility to guarantee. Social services that
foster autonomy focus on prevention and reparation; they must be seen as a government responsibility and
maintained via a protection network that links the social protection threshold to other social and health benefits
designed to improve the well-being of older persons.
The capacities of the countries in the region to meet these challenges also depend on a demographic
context that determines the contribution capacity of cohorts of working age and the potential demand for
benefits by older cohorts (ECLAC, 2017a). The region’s over 60 population will continue to grow steadily over
the next few years, in both absolute and relative terms, but there are still structural constraints limiting the
entry of the youngest cohorts of the active population into the labour market and this makes it impossible to
take full advantage of the demographic dividend (Saad and others, 2012).
According to United Nations estimates and projections, there were 76.3 million older persons in Latin America
and the Caribbean in 2017, representing 11.8% of the <strong>regional</strong> population. By 2030, this population will reach
121 million, or 16.6% of the total <strong>regional</strong> population. By 2050, when practically all the countries of the region
will have an ageing population, older persons will make up 25.4% of the <strong>regional</strong> population, numbering some
242 million.
Between 2017 and 2030, the older adult population will grow at an average annual rate of 3.5%, which is
well above the total population growth rate, and in 2030-2035, will grow at a rate of 2.9%. Ultimately, the older
adult population is the group that is growing the most in the region; within that group, the cohort comprising
persons of an advanced age (80 and over) will show the largest increase in the coming decades, reaching a
growth rate of 4.8% between 2030 and 2035. Women outnumber men among older persons and projections
indicate that this will continue to be the case. At present, the femininity index (number of women per 100 men)
of older people is 122.8, and this figure will remain unchanged for the next 12 years.
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It is fundamental to close gaps in protection because the way social security systems currently operate perpetuates socioeconomic inequality. Access to pension
systems has tended to be heavily contribution-dependent, meaning that old-age benefits are generally only available to groups of workers that have been better
positioned in the labour market (Bertranou, 2006; ECLAC, 2006; and ECLAC, 2010). The idea behind capacity-building is that existing capacities can be engaged to
achieve a greater level of well-being. Activating responsibility, autonomy and independence will empower individuals in decision-making and related processes
(Serrano, 2005; Huenchuan, 2013).
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