The number of relatives and geographical proximity between them affects informal support provided to older persons. In this study, we investigate whether (a) childless persons and parents living remotely from their adult children experience similar shortages in informal support, and (b) whether neighbours, friends and other non-family helpers compensate for these shortages. On the basis of Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data for 12 European countries, we estimate the probability and amount of informal non-financial support received by persons aged 65 and over who remain childless or live at different distances to their children. The contribution of non-family individuals is rather complementary to the help from family. Parents residing in the proximity of their children rely almost exclusively on family; as the geographical distance between adult children and older parents increases, the probability and amount of non-family support increase as well. But childless individuals differ from parents of remotely living children: the former rely on smaller support networks and resort more often to other relatives than the latter. Non-family individuals compensate for the scarcity of informal support only in the case of parents of distant children, but not in the case of childless individuals.

Background: Commonly observed low activity of older adults harms their well-being. We perceive the retirement as a new opening that could be utilized to fulfill previously neglected needs and involve in new activities. They can be a remedy for losing the sense of life while changing the social role and getting older. This study explores trends in activity over retirement. In particular, it verifies if different post-retirement activities: 1) formal social engagement; 2) informal help given outside the household; 3) solitary leisure or self-development activities, and 4) sociable leisure or self-development activities are mutually exclusive or supportive of each other. Methods: We use the data from 4 and 6th wave of Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, taking into consideration 2757 respondents who participated in both waves. We analyze trends in activity over retirement and verify the hypotheses regarding the relationships between engaging into different types of activities and between the activity and development of personal social networks. We conduct the descriptive analysis and utilize the Generalized Structural Equation Model. Results: Most people do not change their involvement in different activities after retirement. Among those who change, the average trend is upward. We find support that different types of activities undertaken after retirement do not crowd out each other. On the contrary, being active in one sphere goes hand in hand with activity in another. We give evidence for presence of social network mechanisms that enhance such understood complementarity. Maintaining social relationships correlates with engagement in socially-oriented activities and privately-oriented sociable pastimes. Being active, with exception of solitary forms of recreation, creates an opportunity to foster relations with other people and, thanks to their encouragement, to engage in new activities. Conclusions: The small change in activity after retirement signifies the need to encourage non-work activity during earlier stages of life. As different types of post-retirement activities are complementary, the most active group of older adults would be the most open for social engagement and volunteering, however the least active group needs the biggest support to involve in any activities.

The proportion of older people in many countries, including Poland, is expected to increase, which will lead to a rise in healthcare costs.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to calculate the subjective equivalence scale and poverty rates for Poland and compare them to equivalence scales in Eastern and Western Europe. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data for 2005-2012. In particular, the authors capture the minimum needs income question and, knowing the minimum needs income of each individual’s observation, apply OLS regression controlling for income and household structure to estimate the poverty threshold, equivalence scales and poverty. Findings: The subjective equivalence scales for the Euro Zone are constant for the period 2004-2012 and less stable for the CEE countries. The child cost in relation to the cost brought by an additional adult is higher in the CEE countries than in the Euro Zone countries. The subjective poverty rates are lower than the OECD rates. The only exceptions are Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria. Originality/value: The authors extend the analysis made by Bishop et al. (2014) by adding data for the years after 2007 and countries outside the Euro Zone.

Ageing populations in Europe are facing opportunities, but also threats, such as insufficient provision of care to the elderly. Private transfers, that is, transfers that do not involve any public institutions, are one solution to this problem. In this paper, the hypothesis on altruistic transfers within families is investigated. We distinguish families with all children being genetically related to parents and families with at least one child nongenetically related to parents. We test whether the two types of families differ with respect to private transfers between parents and children. We examine a sample of parents aged 50+ in Europe. Our findings show that parents with a nongenetically related child are less likely to receive financial transfers from children than parents with all children genetically related. However, once a financial transfer from children to parents is made, its value does not differ between parents with and without a nongenetically related child.

The aging of the population, coupled with increasing divorce and remarriage rates, are changing the structure of potential non-financial support for older parents. The purpose of this study was to examine support provided to parents aged 50+ in stepfamilies and to determine if the difference existed between help provided by natural children and stepchildren. The primary objective was to investigate whether blood ties were a significant determinant of the support if the quality of the relationship between the parent and a natural child or a stepchild was taken into account. The secondary objective was to answer the question to what extent the reciprocal exchange motive of support was observed in stepfamilies. The probability of non-financial support from children and stepchildren was estimated based on the sixth wave of the SHARE (Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) database for European countries. Children in stepfamilies provided less non-financial help to parents than those in intact families. Stepchildren were less likely to be in stepparents’ social networks, and stepparents provided less help with childcare for grandchildren than they did to their biological children. Relationship closeness and looking after grandchildren increased the probability of non-financial support to older parents, regardless of whether the donor was a natural child or a stepchild.