ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out a general framework for monitoring the policies affected by the almost universal ageing of societies. It starts with some general principles and then suggests a minimum list of indicators that will allow monitoring of ageing and key policies within an international framework. Flexibility to accommodate the different policy rationales particularly of pension policies. Working with the Indicators Sub Group (ISG) to develop pension adequacy indicators has taught author the importance of developing a framework that is flexible enough to accommodate the very different pension systems that operate in the EU-25. It is easier to describe the ideal indicator – all resources transferred as a percentage of GDP – than define it in a way that produces a practical measure. One way of bringing employment and demographic indicators together is to measure the effective old-age economic dependency rate; that is the ratio of the inactive retired to the total employed.
