Poverty among senior citizens and measurs for its alleviation in the Republic of Croatia and other countries of the European Union

U Republici Hrvatskoj i zemljama Europske unije starenje stanovništva je najznačajniji trend. Socijalnim promjenama stvorili su se i novi socijalni rizici, a pod kojim se podrazumijeva tranzicija iz industrijskog u postindustrijski način proizvodnje, rast obiteljske nestabilnosti i starenje populacije. Siromaštvo se vrlo često definira kao neposjedovanje novaca ili dovoljno novaca te malo ili nedovoljno imovine. Dominira meĎu osobama starije životne dobi, osobito meĎu onima koji nemaju mirovina. Prema statističkim podacima Državnog zavoda za statistiku stopa rizika od siromaštva za dobnu skupinu 65 i više godina u 2015. godini iznosila je 26, 3 %, dok je u 2017. godini iznosila 28, 6 %. U Europskoj uniji u 2017. godini, najvišu stopu rizika od siromaštva ima Bugarska (38, 9 %) i Rumunjska (35, 7 %). U 2016. godini u zemljama članicama Europske unije 18, 2 % osoba starije životne dobi suočeno je s rizikom od siromaštva ili socijalne isključenosti. Bugarska ima najveći postotak (45, 9 %) osoba u riziku od siromaštva za dobnu skupinu 65 i više godina dok najmanji imaju Danska (9,2 %) i Luksemburg (9,1 %). Hrvatska spada u zemlje članice Europske unije s visokim postotkom osoba u dobnoj skupini 65 i više godina koje su u riziku od siromaštva.In the Republic of Croatia as well as in the rest of the EU the aging of population has become the most significant trend. Social changes have created new social risks which include transition from industrial to post-industrial production, growth of instability within families and aging of population. Poverty is often defined as circumstances of not possessing money or enough money and little or no personal property and it is therefore frequently present among senior citizens, especially the ones without pensions. According to the data of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics the poverty risk rate for the 65 and above age group in 2015 was 26.3%, while in 2017 it was 28.6%. In the EU in 2017 the biggest poverty risk rate was in Bulgaria (38.9%) and Romania (35.7%). In 2016 in the EU countries 18.2% of senior citizens was faced with poverty or social exclusion risk. Bulgaria has the biggest percentage (45.9%) of persons facing poverty risk in the 65 and above age group, while the lowest poverty risk rates were determined in Denmark (9.2%) and Luxembourg (9.1%). Croatia is one of the EU countries with a very high poverty risk rate in the 65 and above age group