Silver Economy between challenges and opportunities. In the coming demographic winter, investment opportunities to meet silver needs are growing

In the next twenty years, almost one in five, or ten million Italians, will live alone, while projections tell us that the over-65s will rise from the current 4.2 million to 6.1 million in 2041.

In addition, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, this segment of the population constitutes a pillar of the national economy given that, in 2021, the value of income generated by over-55 taxpayers amounted to EUR 461.8 billion, 27.5 per cent of the national GDP. Numbers that must be transferred to the Silver Economy, i.e. the economy built on the resources set aside and possessed and the needs of the over-65 bracket.

The demographic winter is coming and will bring not only an increase in investment opportunities in the Silver Economy, but also a structural change in our society, which until now has been able to naturally counteract phenomena such as the loneliness of old age and will soon find itself with more and more people facing physical and cognitive decline without a supporting family unit.

In this context, technological research and start-up innovations, as well as the organisation of new living places that favour aggregation and the development of future-oriented employment policies, represent increasingly important areas of investment because they will not only guarantee a good quality of life but also present themselves as a growth opportunity for various economic sectors.

How the Silver Economy is changing from housing models

The numbers of growth in the silver segment are important numbers when compared also to the falling birth rate. This tells us that not only will we all be older because we will live longer, but we will also have fewer young people to look after us.

It is therefore not surprising that the Silver Economy is attracting increasing attention from companies and institutions precisely because it offers so many opportunities for development and diversification, starting with new housing models.

The relationship with the home, in fact, does not only concern loneliness, increased economic and personal commitment for the management of environments that are too large or suddenly uncomfortable or unsuitable for domestic care, but also the very safety of those who live there and who find themselves moving around in spaces where the risks of accidents may increase.

So Senior Housing and Co-Housing become central topics for entrepreneurs investing in the real estate sector, as well as for new buyers, who are no longer only the so-called ‘millennials’, but also the senior age group, which in many cases is to be considered among the high spenders and requires a range of services in line with their needs.

In particular, Co-Housing is presented as a housing model that allows older people to live together in a community, sharing some spaces but at the same time having their own independence thanks to private housing units, so as to put together all the security and socialisation needs that are expected to be necessary in a future with few supporting families.

In the real estate world, therefore, a new planning is making its way that focuses on new needs in view of longevity that must at the same time satisfy ambitions for sociality and entertainment. These new perspectives lead not only to the development of dedicated building projects, but also to ad hoc services and the demand for agents and brokerage agencies oriented towards Senior Housing.

Research and challenges of ageing

Italy wants to position itself in the European sphere as the main scientific pole in research on ageing and as an ‘empirical laboratory’ at the forefront of its process, through the activities of the Ministry of Universities and Research which, through the funds of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has financed a number of calls for proposals that focus on its consequences and challenges.

The calls aim to fund experimental development projects, in particular on the frailty of the elderly, age-related neurological disorders, and the impact of climate change and pollution on health in an ageing population. But research activities investigating consumption preferences and the dynamics of individual behaviour in the Silver Economy and demographic transition are also promoted, as well as research for a new integrated welfare architecture.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti’s National Accelerator Network, with the participation of international companies and economic and scientific partners, has also launched the Next Age programme to support start-ups active in the silver economy. With an initial budget of EUR 5.46 million and an overall budget of EUR 8 million, Next Age will run for three years and aims to support about 10 start-ups per year active in the silver economy – understood as a transversal sector aimed at devising innovative solutions for the over-50s – that are in the seed and pre-seed stages, through a four-month path towards validating their business model and strengthening their growth potential.

Changing care with telemedicine

But among the many themes revolving around the Silver Economy, an important role is also played by technology integration and territorial health care, elements that relate to the need to support the inclusion and protection of fragile users.

The context of healthcare systems and companies that operate in close contact with healthcare, from the world of drugs to that of medical devices, move in a market increasingly characterised by the continuous growth of digital solutions not only for the organisation and delivery of care, but also for applied research.

If we look at the context of the knowledge of Italians, digital medicine and telemedicine are familiar topics to a large segment of the over-55 population, who use apps and telemedicine to consult their data and examinations, interact with their doctor, and request help.

And if the general practitioner and specialist are seen as a key to patient access to services, more than 50% of Silver citizens would pay for these services on the private channel. There is therefore an interesting market potential to drive a digital revolution in the lifelong health journey. A market that can also benefit from public-private partnerships to develop these services in light of the PNRR funds, which invest one billion on telemedicine alone.

Longevity scenarios between new needs and employment

In the coming years, it will be increasingly important to improve the approach and management of citizens’ health pathways, not only to increase their life prospects, but to make them live a healthy life and thus reduce the economic impact of chronicity. It will also be necessary to implement more vigorously inclusive welfare policies to tackle the levels of loneliness and poverty that will grow without the support of the family network.

It will also be necessary not to underestimate the development of employment, which sees the role of the Future Silver, that is, the over-55s and over-65s of the future, as central. Faced with workers who will live longer and be healthier, it will in fact be necessary to invest in both upskilling policies, which enable them to expand their knowledge or acquire new skills in their jobs, and reskilling, i.e. developing new skills that enable the worker to go on to different roles. However, generational changeover must also be taken into account, to preserve jobs and skills that risk being lost over time.