Filenews 14 August 2022 - by Theano Thiopoulou
The most discussed and always topical issue for workers is when they will get a pension, how much will be the monthly amount paid to them and the concern expressed by young people whether there will be money in the CTA to get a pension. An issue that when someone begins his working life, he usually sees as something that he will deal with in the distant future, but as the years go by he is more and more concerned. In Europe, heated debates on the demographic issue have resumed with a view to tackling the ageing of the population and the need for a gradual increase in the retirement age.
How far the retirement age can reach is something that has returned to the public discourse of Europe on the occasion of Germany where there is talk of extending the pensionable age limit to 70 years. At the end of 2021, only 8.3 million Germans were included in the population category 15-24 years old, that is, not even one in 10. At the same time the number of elderly people, over the age of 65, exceeded 18 million. The demographic trend cannot be reversed by new births, nor by immigration. And this will have consequences for the pension system, which in Germany, as in many other European countries, is based on a pay-as-you-go logic (Umlageverfahren), it is the current insurance contributions that finance today's pensions.
In Cyprus there is currently no debate on the pension issue and a few months ago the former Minister of Labour Zeta Emilianidou made it clear that there is no question of raising the retirement age beyond 65 years. "F" gathered data at what age the other Europeans retire and the survey shows that each country has its own age limit. There are privileged people in some countries and there is no uniformity in Europe's pension system. However, those countries that plan changes to the pension system, have dialogue and prepare over a period of a decade.
Pensioners in Europe
Most European Union countries have 65-year-old pensioners, while Lithuanian and Maltese workers, who can retire at the age of 62, are privileged. Two countries that have the youngest pensioners. In Cyprus, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg and Romania the retirement age is 65 years. Greece is at the top of the age limit for pension at 67 years.
For some countries there is a plan, over a five-year or ten-year period, for the pensionable age to be raised to 67 years. According to the official retirement age in the EU Member States: 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 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 years. In Britain for men it was 65 years and for women was 62 + 4 months, with the aim to increase to 65 for women by 2018 and to 68 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 it is 63 and a gradual increase to 65 by 2023, in Lithuania to 63.2 years for men and 61.4 years for women and a gradual increase to 65 by 2026.
Scandinavian flexibility
Noteworthy is the regime that applies to the Scandinavian countries. For Norway, Sweden and Finland the limits are flexible, which means that 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, someone must have a decent pension amount, otherwise he cannot make use of the flexible limit and must wait until he is 75.
Pensioners and CTA
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 quite reduced from today which is 1:3,3. This element, coupled with the increase in life expectancy, are parameters that will often have to be evaluated, as it is one of the main indicators that affect 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.
Life expectancy and reviews from time to time
Many countries, according to the data of the European Statistical Authority, have adopted a mechanism that links the retirement age with life expectancy, while for most countries the revision of the thresholds is not necessarily related to the fiscal but also to the ageing of the population. In the Czech Republic, for example, changes in life expectancy are monitored every five years and decisions on pensions are amended accordingly.
In most European countries 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 there is a provision for early retirement if the years of work that each insured person has are sufficient to allow it. In Malta, for example, if the worker has been insured for 35 consecutive years, he can get a pension at 61.
