ECB advises retirement age be increased

Aging populations are an expensive business and suppress growth, the European Central Bank has warned, while recommending that countries delay the age of retirement as the best solution to the problem.

Frankfurt’s projections affect Greece too, as despite the recent interventions to the country’s social security system it appears that it will be among the worst affected by the demographic problem by 2070, with the old-age dependency ratio soaring to 63 percent: This means that for every 10 working-age people between 15 and 64 years in Greece, over six people aged over 65 years will be dependent on them. This compares with a current old-age dependency ratio of 33 percent. For the entire eurozone the current rate of 30 percent will rise to an estimated 52 percent in 2070.

Given that life expectancy is constantly growing across the continent, the ECB study underscores that aging will contain economic growth, reduce tax revenues and make it more difficult to manage the public debt.