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Sunday, March 20, 2011

OECD Pension Reforms Report Also Focuses on Older Workers

The OECD has published Pensions at a Glance 2011: Retirement-Income Systems in OECD and G20 Countries, focusing on pensions, retirement and life expectancy. Among other things, while by 2050 the average pensionable age in OECD countries will reach 65 for both sexes, life expectancy is rising even faster, outstripping the increase in pension ages by about 2 years for men and 1.5 years for women. However, as governments rein in public pension spending rising as a result of population aging, OECD warns that income from work and from private pensions and other savings.will need to fill the gap, so that ensuring that there are enough jobs for older workers remains a challenge.

According to OECD Secretary-General Angel GurrĂ­a, "Countries need to do more to fight discrimination, to provide training opportunities for older workers and to improve their working conditions . This would help employers adapt to a greyer workforce."

In addition to providing comparative indicators on the national pension systems provided in the report of the 34 OECD countries, as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, the report includes special chapters on issues including life expectancy, trends in retirement and working at older ages, and ways to help older workers find and retain jobs.

For example, in highlights about France, the report notes:
In addition, the participation rates of older workers aged 60 and over is low: only 19% of men aged between 60 and 64 years participate in the labor market in France compared to 54.5% on average across countries OECD. This percentage is even lower in the age group 65-69: 5.5% in France compared to 29.3% on average in the OECD. For the long-term success of reforms change in the attitudes towards older people is necessary. Employers, both private and public, must learn to see older workers as a real asset and avoid discrimination towards them, invest in their training and adjust labour market conditions and hours of work when needed.
Source: OECD News Release (March 17, 2011)

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