Health Expectancy in Old Ages: Measurements and Analyses in Europe

The debate on the ageing in Europe is currently paying considerable attention to the social and economic consequences of demographic trends; The increasing of retirement age in order to maintain an active population able to compensate for the growth in the number of pensioners is a particular issue. Central to the discussion surrounding the extension of the active lifespan is the state of health of the elderly. On one hand the health condition of the population is clearly crucial to all hypotheses linked to the extension of active life, on the other hand, European governments are specifically interested in forecasting the health care needs and services which will be required by the elderly. This study examines the health expectancy evidence in Europe from a theoretical, methodological and empirical point of view; and measure the life expectancy without disability in France, using the data of the French survey on handicaps, disabilities and dependency (HID).