There often seems to be an in phrase or buzz word which starts to appear in TV programmes or, as the Book of Common Prayer used to proclaim, 'in Choirs and Places where they sing'.

In other words, they become over-used and to some extent lose their impact as the chattering classes make them their common currency.

I certainly hope the phrase 'active ageing' does not meet that fate as it is a candidate for this year's top thought for the day for all those who care about what happens to those who are no longer in the first flush of youth.

It is a sad quirk of fate that getting older is now happening to younger and younger people as the redundancies start to bite and the employed of last year become the unemployed of this year, often simply because they have reached a certain age.

There is nothing wrong with them - their employer is 'downsizing,' a horrible word, and they are considered to be too old to get another job.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but they are often men at the top of the tree who could well afford to retire on what they have in terms of pension, stock options and a golden handshake.

'Active ageing' was a concept discussed at a conference in Tokyo last year following a decision taken by the G8 Finance Ministers at Kobe in 1997 when they confirmed their commitment to positive promotion of employment for the older workers.

At the Tokyo conference it was taken a step further with government policy-makers hosting a two-day symposium which concentrated on important matters such as the transfer of pension rights, often put forward as a reason for refusing employment to older people, temporary and part-time employment of pensioners, taxes on pensions and pension contributions, and very timely, given the present problems with the NHS, adequate health care so that the older members of society can continue to enjoy a good quality of life.

It was interesting to see that many of the problems arising from an ageing population were shared across the civilised world.

Low birth rates in countries such as Germany, Italy, China and Japan are going to cause problems in the next 20 years as there will be fewer extended families to look after an ageing population.

In some ways it is comforting to see that such problems exist outside our own country.

There is hope that legislation will be made to stick if other EU countries join together to make discrimination against older people illegal and make positive moves toward improving their lot. In other words, encourage 'Active Ageing'.

If statistics are correct, the demographic changes which are being forecast - a decrease of 11m in the 20-29 age group and an increase of 16.5m in the 50-64 age group by 2015 - will force their hand.

At last the older generation will come into its own, and not before time.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.