Advocates for Bermuda’s elderly say the ageing of the population revealed in the latest Census has “profound implications” for Bermuda’s social assistance programmes.The Census shows that Bermuda’s senior population has risen from 11 percent to 14 percent over the past decade.This coincided with a drop in those aged five to 19 (from 18 percent of the population to 16 percent), 20 to 29 (13 percent to 12 percent), and particularly in the 30 to 44 category (from 28 percent to 23 percent)“When it comes to programmes we’ve put in place for the elderly, we will have to be not just creative, but courageous,” Age Concern executive director Claudette Fleming said.“If we have a shrinking younger population, we’ll have to re-evaluate and prioritise how we finance social assistance. Government does a great deal, but is it all coordinated? Is it all things that people need?”Privileges such as free licence renewals for the elderly could be up for the chop, she said.“There are concessions when you turn 65 that are not needs-based but based just on your age, regardless of your income,” Ms Fleming said. “It’s not just licensing, but land tax concessions as well. We might need to rethink that.”The ageing of Bermuda’s workforce will require a bolstering of the economy, she added.“For seniors, if we have a slowing of the economy and less people contributing, will we see a raising of the retirement age and more older people being brought into the workforce?”Based on population projections, the Island’s seniors are expected to double from 11 percent in 2000 to 22 percent in 2030.Ms Fleming predicted “a crisis on top of a crisis” in the future, if today’s cash-strapped Bermudians continue to tap into their pension funds.Premier Paula Cox has said that people will be allowed to dip into their private pensions on an emergency basis only. People who are struggling to pay rent or mortgages have been given the green light to apply to the Pension Committee for permission to use a portion of the fund.However, Ms Fleming said: “People are taking this money, and if they’re out of work, that means they’re not contributing to the pension fund.“Pensions should be sacred, because there will be more people at the end of this journey, and we can’t guarantee that there will be public funds to support them. People should never be allowed to access their pension funds.”She added: “Our children don’t have a clue what’s facing them. They’re the ones who will end up paying for it.”Projections based on the Census show the Island’s dependency ratio the numbers of people working and those not working rising from 19 percent in 2000, to 45 percent by the year 2030.Bermuda Health Council CEO Jennifer Attride-Stirling said the figures showed a potential burden on the working population to provide resources and services to the non-working population.“This includes healthcare services and funding for health and social services for the young and the elderly,” she said. “The work of the Health Council takes this into consideration when reviewing the health system in the short and long term.”Although the ageing of Bermuda’s population has an impact on the demand for healthcare, she added, it is not the only factor impinging on health costs.“For example, Japan and a number of European countries have larger senior populations than Bermuda, but lower health costs overall,” she said.Dealing with an increasing senior population was the focus of the Island’s Conference on Ageing, held in March.A Ministry of Health spokesman said policy recommendations are currently being drafted, as part of a national ageing plan.