The Peace and Social Justice Committee of the Roman Catholic Church of Bermuda will host a forum focusing on ageing on the Island this week.

The forum is set to be the first in a series, and will feature Bishop Wesley Spiewak, Age Concern’s Claudette Fleming, Bermuda College’s Craig Simmons and Sara Clifford of the Human Rights Commission as expert panellists.

A spokeswoman for the committee said: “With 35 per cent of seniors 65 years and older living below the poverty line, this first forum will explore the topic of ageing and employment, retirement at 65 and whether or not it is in the best interest of the community to raise this retirement age.

“The intention of these events, which will include think tank discussions, is to draw the spotlight on the intricate dilemma of ageing in Bermuda and to come up with action plans of how best to address this social concern through community activism.”

The forum is scheduled to begin at 7.30pm this Friday at St Theresa’s Church Hall.

Other forums in the series are scheduled to take place on March 11, April 8, May 20 and June 17 tackling matters of health, legal issues, eldercare and end of life respectively, all through the lens of ageing.