Austrian Senior Citizens Policy

We view Austrian senior citizens' policy as a policy conducted with senior citizens, which as a cross-sectional issue (mainstreaming ageing) extends into various departments of the Ministry. Austrian senior citizens' and volunteers' policy focuses on people with their abilities and resources. Due to demographic changes - rising life expectancy, increase of the population aged over 60 - many tasks in the future will have to be carried out by less and on average older people, whereby ‘being old' does not primarily have to mean ‘in need of assistance and care', as today's senior citizens are on average healthier, more energetic and in many cases financially independent and are not interested in withdrawing from society.

Austrian senior citizens' and volunteers' policy therefore pursues the following goals and includes the following measures:

• Promoting and ensuring opportunities for older people to participate in social, political, economic and cultural life, for example through the Federal Senior Citizens Act, the Austrian Federal Senior Citizens Advisory Council, the drawing up of a Senior Citizens Plan or the funding of model projects such as senior citizen-friendly communities.
• Promotion of lifelong learning in order to help people to deal with constantly changing circumstances, requirements and challenges due to new insights and technologies, and also as an essential condition for participation in society and for an independent life into old age. This is carried out for example through the promotion of specific projects in the fields of lifelong learning or education after retirement in order to provide equality of access to diverse learning offers.
• Promotion of active ageing. Education, social security, medical advances and a functioning health care system for all are the great achievements of our time, which make it possible for more and more people to grow old in good health and socially protected. According to the definition of the WHO, the word ‘active' means the continuing participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic life. This is realised via, for example, support for projects for medical prevention and participation in society, anti-discrimination and equal opportunities, a national quality certificate for old people's and nursing homes, and measures to promote and support unsalaried and voluntary workers.