D7.1 – Research report on cross-countries and within country variation in the provision of care for older individuals within Europe
As Europe’s population ages, ensuring that older people receive the home care they need has become a pressing challenge for health systems. But access to care varies enormously from one country to another. This report examines why, mapping how support for older individuals is organised across the European Union and how well it actually reaches those who need it most.
The report combines two analyses. First, it provides a comprehensive overview of care allowance systems for older people across all 27 EU member states as of 2024, drawing on the Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC) and expert validation, and comparing payment structures, eligibility criteria and assessment processes. Second, it uses microdata from Wave 9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) — covering nearly 50,000 individuals aged 65 and over across 24 countries — to analyse how formal and informal home care is used relative to people’s actual needs, measured through limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs). A key finding is that differences in formal care use are driven less by underlying need than by the design of eligibility systems, the extent of public financing, and cultural and socio-economic factors. The report offers evidence to help design fairer, better-targeted long-term care systems across the EU.
What the deliverable contains:
- A comparative overview of cash care allowances in all 27 EU countries (amounts, eligibility, assessment, means testing, carer support)
- An empirical analysis of formal and informal home care use across 24 European countries, differentiated by level of need
- An assessment of how generous and inclusive each country’s eligibility system is, applied to a common European population
- Policy insights on targeting, equity and the interplay between formal and informal care