El gasto en los mayores: el reto de la dependencia

The recently published white book on dependency is the starting point for the implementation of a Spanish national law on dependency. The present article focuses on the extra costs generated when a person becomes dependent. Elderly individuals relying only on their pensions are unlikely to be able to afford the costs of long-term care. In addition, current levels of expenditure on longterm care in Spain are much lower than the average for EU countries. This article reviews other Spanish research on public expenditure on long-term care, as this issue is crucial for developing a social protection system for long-term care. It is estimated that public expenditure should increase to about 0.5% of GNP.