News Analysis: Pension Age
Controversy Heats Up Again in Nordic
Region
Anna-Liina Kauhanen, Helsingin
Sanomat
February 10, 2012
Sweden
Swedish Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt dropped a bombshell
early in the week when he said that in the future,
Swedes should stay at work until the age of 75.
Reinfeldt got what he wanted: a major controversy
to spark off an inevitable debate on retirement
age.
In Finland Minister of Finance Jutta Urpilainen
(SDP) has promised that the retirement age would
not be tampered with in the present government
term.
On Thursday, on a
visit to Sweden, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki
Katainen (Nat. Coalition Party) voiced similar
sentiments to those expressed by Reinfeldt.
“According to the government programme, the
retirement age will not be touched during this
electoral term, but it is possible to lengthen
working careers in other ways as well.
Meeting in Stockholm were the prime ministers of
the Nordic Countries and the Baltic region, as
well as Britain’s David Cameron. They attended a
seminar on the future, whose main topics included
how people could be persuaded to stay at work
longer.
“Each year 15,000 more people leave the
labour market than are replaced by new people”,
Katainen said.
The most efficient way to maintain tax
income is to get people to stay at work a bit
longer, Katainen pointed out.
Sweden is likely to raise its retirement age in
the coming years. Reinfeldt will have to work to
reach agreement on the matter with the Social
Democrats and the Swedish labour union movement.
Reinfeldt’s message to the future forum was that
all of Europe should do the same: the retirement
systems need to recognise the fact that people are
living longer.
“The negative attitude toward a longer
working career needs to be changed.”
Reinfeldt’s mantra of the week is that the labour
market should make it possible for people to
change careers at the age of 60. For those who
cannot cope with their old jobs, an option to
retiring could be a job that is less demanding.
The Swedish government has been busy assembling
information to support the raising of the
retirement age. The discussion always involves
plenty of numbers.
Life expectancy for Swedish women is
expected to increase from 83.6 years to 86.9 years
in the period from 20111 to 2060. For men the
increase should be from 79.7 to 84.7 years.
The ratio of
people working to those who do not is changing.
Whereas 100 people at work are currently
supporting 75 people not at work, in 2030 the
numbers are expected to be even.
Reinfeldt insists that there are ways to influence
all of this. “The means can be found when we are
more open-minded.”
The minimum work pension age in Sweden is 61, but
many stay on until 63-65, because those who wait
until the age of 65 before retiring are entitled
to various additional benefits. As is the case in
Finland, the accrual of pensions accelerates for
those who stay at work longer.
The age of mandatory retirement for wage
earners in Sweden is 67. The Swedish government
has said that it wants to raise this to 69.
According to calculations by Statistics
Sweden, the ageing of the population and longer
life expectancy would require that the official
retirement age should be raised to 66 in 2015, and
to 67 in 2021. In 2033 the retirement age should
be 68 if it is to correspond to life expectancy.
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