Our society is ageing.

Is that a bad thing? No, of course not. Our society is living longer and is healthy and active for longer. However, this has an impact on our social security and pension schemes.

How so? In most European countries, pension schemes are funded by the working population. These funds are paid out to pensioners in the form of a pension. As our society gets older, it draws pensions for longer - but the time spent in gainful employment remains the same. The costs of old age are rising, while income remains the same. This is further accentuated by the fact that baby boomers will soon be retiring and smaller cohorts will follow. 

It is clear that the relationship between young and old, between payers and recipients, has changed to the detriment of the financing of the pension schemes. Adjustments are needed.

Higher taxes, new taxes and misappropriation of financial resources only delay the aforementioned problem. If sustainable solutions are not found for the pension funds today, the debts will be passed on to future generations. That is anti-social.

It's logical: if a society lives longer, it has to work a little longer. The only sustainable and intergenerationally fair solution to the demographic problems of old-age provision is therefore to raise the retirement age - because one generation must never live at the expense of the next. 

We want a sustainably financed pension scheme.

The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) alone. These views do not necessarily reflect those of LYMEC.