Brussels, 05/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner László Andor will present the European Commission Green Paper on the future of retirement pensions in Europe to the press on Wednesday 7 July. The Green Paper will mark the start of a consultation exercise lasting several months on the best way for the EU to help member states to provide decent, viable and safe pensions, given the challenges that an ageing population and the economic and financial crisis pose for their systems. The Green Paper is a joint initiative by Commissioners Andor, Michel Barnier (Internal Market and Services) and Olli Rehn (Economic and Monetary Affairs), each within the range of his own respective areas of responsibility.
The Commission will call for retirement age to be increased throughout the EU to prevent the collapse of the system and ease the strain on states' public finances, AFP reports, setting out some figures: (1) at the present moment, there are 4 people in work for every one person aged 65 or over in Europe: by 2060, this will have fallen to two people in work for every one person over 65; (2) the average age at which people retire was 61.4 years in 2008; (3) France wants to push up the minimum age for retirement from 60 to 62 by 2018; (4) Spain wants to increase the legal retirement age from 65 to 67; (5) Germany wants to increase the age at which a person may claim a full pension from 65 to 67 by 2029. (G.B./transl.rt)