Report warns of impact of aging workforce

The aging of Greece’s population will force the country’s governments in the next few years to introduce social security contribution hikes by 35 percent, so that they reach up to 27 percent for the main social insurance from a rate of 20 percent today, and to 8.1 percent from 6 percent for auxiliary social security, according to a new report.

Alternatively, the authorities will have to further slash the country’s already low pensions or introduce significant increases to the age of retirement, gradually from 67 years today to 73 years, argues the report by Panteion University academics Savvas Robolis and Vassilis Betsis, which was seen by Kathimerini.

The report shows that the workforce will shrink from 4.7 million people in 2016 to just 3.07 million by 2070, as the over-65s will increase from 2.31 million in 2016 to 2.61 million in 2070.

The study, which examines different options for covering the financing deficit from the aging of the population, argues that a solution may lie in the increase of productivity. Therefore, taking for granted a European Union projection for an average annual increase in the productivity rate of Greece by 1.7 percent up to 2060, the two academics conclude that this would cover the deficit from the aging of the population by 98 percent.