Senior Policy in Hungary, Poland and Russia

The monograph considers the notion and scope of senior policy vis-a-vis similar policies, such as social policy on ageing, social policy on old age, and social policy on the elderly. Although retirement policy is unrelated to senior policy, it is also covered in the monograph because of its influence on the financial situation and well-being of the elderly and older adults. A brief review of the demographic situation and main population trends in EU-28 countries is followed by a presentation of senior policies in Hungary, Poland and Russia, and the impact of their retirement policies on the economic situation of older people.

Introduction – Bogusława Urbaniak 9 1. The European Union is going grey – main trends – Bogusława Urbaniak 13 References 16 2. Senior policy – what are we talking about? A terminological analysis – Bogusława Urbaniak 19 References 23 3. Senior policies in Hungary – László Patyán 25 3.1. Preface 25 3.2. International guidelines for ageing policies 26 3.2.1. Ageing in place 26 3.2.2. The age-friendly environment 27 3.2.3. Active ageing policies 29 3.2.4. Care policies and the main directions of care-related policies 30 3.2.5. Pension policy 32 3.3. The major demographic characteristics of Hungary 33 3.4. Policies supporting the ageing process and older adults in Hungary 38 3.4.1. Policy planning levels: state and municipality 38 3.4.2. The success and failures of decentralisation 39 3.4.3. New paternalism 40 3.5. Active ageing policies in Hungary 42 3.5.1. Change of situation 42 3.5.2. National Senior Strategy 43 3.5.3. European Year 2012 43 3.5.4. The age-friendly environment 44 3.6. Current strategies and processes 45 3.6.1. Employment of the older people 45 3.6.2. Promoting the social participation of older people: the Elderly Council and Senior Citizen Rapporteur program 47 3.6.3. Care policy 48 3.7. The senior policy of municipalities 49 3.8. Conclusions 51 References 52 4. Senior policy in Poland – Bogusława Urbaniak 59 4.1. Senior policy in Poland – an outline 59 4.2. Between the central and local government’s activities 66 4.3. The Human Rights Defender’s activities on behalf of older people 68 4.4. The government’s policy toward older people in the labour market 70 4.5. Retirement policy 74 4.6. Old-age and disability pensions in Poland in 2019 79 4.7. Senior policy in the city and voivodeship of Łódź 82 4.8. Conclusions 89 References 89 5. Senior policy: Russia and Moscow – Yaroslava Evseeva 95 5.1. Demography 95 5.2. Social services and social care 97 5.3. The pension system 104 5.4. Labour policy 111 5.5. Educational and cultural policy 117 5.6. Conclusions 123 References 126 Conclusions – Bogusława Urbaniak 131 About the Authors 135