Filenews 12 September 2021 - by Theano Thiopoulou
One of the most discussed issues for employees is the one concerning the point in time they will get a pension (at what age), how much will be the monthly amount that will be paid to them, but also the concern expressed by young people whether there will be money in the CCA to get pensions when their time comes. The pension, at least until now, is an issue that someone who begins his working life, usually sees as "something" with which he will deal in the distant future, but as the years go by it concerns the workers more and more.
Pensions are a big business and it is also a concern for other Europeans. In France, President Emmanuel Macron, according to reports last week, is preparing to reopen the file on pension reform - which everyone thought had been "buried" - seven months before the presidential elections. According to the French financial newspaper Les Echos, Macron "would like to abolish special pension schemes and set the minimum pension at €1,000." In Italy, the quota 100 insurance system officially expires on 31 December. With this type of pension, Italian workers until the end of this year can retire at the age of 62, as long as they have completed the necessary years of contribution. The question is what insurance system will be implemented from now on, as a very large gap is created if Mario Draghi's government does not rush to push through and approve the next pension reform.
In Cyprus, the Minister of Labour, Zeta Emilianidou, in relation to the pension reform that is prominently on the agenda of the social dialogue, which began on Wednesday and will continue in the coming months, made it clear that there is no question of raising the retirement age beyond 65 years.
The 'F' gathered evidence at what age other Europeans retire and the survey shows that each country has its own age limit, that there are privileged people in other countries as well and that there is no uniformity in Europe's pension system. However, those countries that are planning changes to the pension system understand that the changes will be completed over a decade and after dialogue.
Pensioners in Europe
Most European Union countries have pensioners aged 65, while Lithuanian and Maltese workers are privileged, and can retire at 62, two countries that have the youngest pensioners. In Cyprus, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg and Romania, the retirement age is 65. Greece is at the top of the age limits for retirement, at 67 years.
In some countries there is planning, over a period of five or ten years, to raise the retirement age to 67.
According to the data, the official retirement age in the EU Member States: in Cyprus it is 65 years for men and women, in Ireland 66 for men and women, in Italy 66 for men and 64 for women. In Portugal, the retirement age is 66 for men and women, in Spain 65 + 3 months for men and women and a gradual increase to 67 by 2027. In Germany it is 65 years + 3 months and a gradual increase to 67 by 2029, in France it is 65 years for men and women and a gradual increase to 67 by 2023. In the Netherlands, the retirement age is at 65 +3 months and a gradual increase to 67 by 2024, in Poland to 65 + 7 months for men and 60 + 7 months for women and a gradual increase to 67 for men by 2020 and equalization of women's limits by 2040.
In Belgium, the retirement age is 65, in Britain for men it is 65 and for women it is 62 + 4 months, with the aim is to increase to the 65th year for women by 2018 and to the 68th year by 2046 for both sexes. In Bulgaria it is 64 years + 4 months for men and for women 61 years + 4 months. In Slovenia, the retirement age is 64 years + 4 months for men and women. In Estonia the 63rd year and gradual increase to 65 by 2023, in Lithuania 63, 2 years for men and 61.4 years for women and a gradual increase to 65 years by 2026.
In most countries in Europe there are special provisions for mothers, depending on the children they have or the years in which they were insured. Also, in countries such as Belgium and Austria, provision is made for early retirement if the years of work each insured person has are sufficient to allow it. In Malta, for example, if the worker has been insured for 35 consecutive years, he or she can get a pension at 61.
Scandinavian flexibility
The status of the Nordic countries is noteworthy. For Norway, Sweden and Finland, the limits are flexible, which means that someone or someone can retire over a period of years which for Norway is between 65 and 75, with an average of 67, for Sweden between 61 and 75, with an average of 65 years, and for Finland between 63 years and 3-6 months to 68, with an average of 65 years. But beware. For Norway, in order to retire under the age of 67, one must have secured a decent pension amount, otherwise he cannot make use of the flexible limit and must wait until 75.
Life expectancy
It is particularly interesting that many countries, always according to data from the European Statistical Authority, have adopted a mechanism linking the retirement age to life expectancy, while, for most, the revision of the thresholds is not necessarily related to finances but also to the ageing of the population. In the Czech Republic, for example, changes in life expectancy are monitored every five years and pension decisions are amended accordingly.
Early retirement
Early retirement schemes exist in all members of the European Union, although they vary considerably from country to country. Eurostat data show that 43.1% of old-age pensions in the EU were given to people who participated in early retirement schemes, with the average age being 58. The highest rates were recorded in Italy (73.9%), Ireland (68.5%) and Spain (59.9%). The lowest in Bulgaria (5.2%), Czech Republic (5.3%). 12.6% of early retirees continued some form of work. The difference in age in early and regular retirees is greatest in Italy (4.7 years), Ireland (4.6 years) and Spain (4.3).
"Black" thoughts from the EU and alarm in governments
Europeans' anxiety and concern about retirement ages came to be reinforced by an EU report that came to light last May. The 350-page report prepared by the Economic Policy Committee (CPE) on 'Economic and budgetary forecasts for EU Member States up to 2070' sets out proposals to raise the retirement age in various Member States. "Unfortunately, this is what the European Commission is proposing, work up to the age of 70 or even more," says Belgian MEP Mark Botenda, a member of the Left Group, in the European Parliament. In its report, the European Commission proposes to raise the retirement age to 70 and especially in Lithuania to 72, especially when in this Baltic country life expectancy is... 71.5 years," says the Belgian MEP. A Commission spokesman was quick, however, to assure that "the report that has come to light was only informative and of no binding value".
The studies that have seen the light of publicity in recent years have raised the alarm among the staffs of the competent ministries. The OSCE's prediction that by 2050 more than 50 pensioners will account for more than 100 workers, which is twice as high as in 2015, is indicative. In some countries, in fact, this relationship will be even more dramatic, for example in Spain and Italy, where for every 100 workers there will be 70 pensioners.
Many pensioners support consumption
In Cyprus, due to the ageing of the population and the increase in life expectancy, the ratio of pensioners to those who contribute to the Social Insurance Fund is estimated in 2060 to be 1:2, less than today, which is 1:3.3. This element, in connection with the increase in life expectancy, is a parameter that should often be assessed, as it is among the key indicators affecting a pension system. Pensioners are an ever-increasing category of population, the only one that is growing in number, and who usually do not save, mainly consume. Therefore, their good financial situation helps consumption, business turnover and the economy in general.
