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Friday, January 20, 2006

Global Pension Systems Need To Adapt to Aging Populations

Raymond Torres, a labor analyst with the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), spoke January 19 at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington and told the audience that countries should adjust their pension and employment systems to adapt to aging populations and older workers. According to an article by Kathryn McConnell, Washington File Staff Writer for the Department of State, Torres said that if significant changes are not made in coming years, economic growth in countries could slow profoundly, as longer-living pensioners tap into retirement benefits and the proportion of younger workers who pay into countries' supportive tax bases grows smaller. Among other things, improved incentives for retaining workers longer could include raising the pension age, limiting tax advantages for people in private pension schemes for taking early retirement and ensuring that formal retirement plans and other welfare benefits are not used as pathways to early retirement.

Source: Washington File U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (January 19, 2006)

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