The last six months have been full of substantial creativity, discussion and vision. The following is a short overview of these activities.

We conducted three discussions with different focus groups to gather thoughts and opinions on the future of elderly people. The first discussion was held on 18 April and it tackled the issue of higher employment among elderly people. The participants explored how to provide for the current and future extended participation of elderly people in the labour market. The second focus discussion, held on 20 May, sought the best solutions for Estonia to increase personal responsibility in accumulating pension capital. The last focal discussion, held on 30 June, was dedicated to life-long education. The main theme in this discussion was finding ways to provide an equal level of participation in life-long education among all age groups.

Aside from focus discussions, we organised the #SELFIE 2050 public discussion within the Opinion Festival framework. It looked towards Estonia’s future in 2050 and our vision on the role of elderly people in this future Estonia. The topics discussed were divided into two parts: how to ensure a high level of wealth during retirement and what should be changed to keep pensioners happy and satisfied.

We also created the Pension 2050 programme blog to broadcast our thoughts and initiate a wider public discussion in our society. The blog is conducted in two languages – Estonian and Russian. Its main goal is to provide up-to-date information on the programme’s development and creative ideas expanded on during the work. At the same time, we wish to encourage authors who are not participating in our programme to reflect with us on our coming old age.

The main event in the next half-year will be the conference on old age, which is scheduled for 4th November in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Its agenda will include our report on the principles of the new old age and foreign experience on the reforming pension system.