Preventing ageing unequally

This introductory chapter gives an overview of the entire publication drawing on analyses carried out in the other chapters. A special attention in this report is paid to life course trajectories comparing outcomes across generations. This chapter summarises how old age inequality is often the result of developments which interact across different dimensions and accumulate with age. It highlights that demographic changes combined with recent inequality trends and tight public finance constraints are changing the balance of societies. Risks of increasing inequality among future retirees have been building up in many countries. This chapter also suggests a policy agenda to prevent, mitigate and cope with such inequalities, drawing on good practices in OECD countries and emerging economies. The Executive Summary of the publication includes the key findings and recommendations.