OECD raises alarm for Poland
18:56
According to the newest OECD report, Poland is aging at an alarming rate – the fastest among OECD countries next to South Korea or Greece. In four decades, the population of people of working age, which means people who are between 20 and 64 years old, will fall in Poland by almost 40 percent. Meanwhile, the average for all OECD countries is 10 percent. Experts have no illusions: this will have a huge impact on the financing of the pension system, the labor market, production and thus economic growth.
Every two years, experts from the (OECD) prepare a comprehensive report on pension systems in the most developed countries of the world. Pension at a glance published in the last days of January presents and analyzes the situation from September 2017 to September 2019.
Currently, in OECD countries, there are 31 seniors per 100 people of working age. In four decades there will be almost twice as many elderly people (58 out of 100). Poland is tragic in this context – in 2060 there will be over 70 seniors per 100 working-age people.
OECD experts indicate in the report that raising retirement age is one of the key measures to improve financial stability in the face of longevity and a decline in fertility. Today, more than half of OECD countries have raised or are planning to raise their retirement age. In Poland, the government, instead of increasing – lowered it to 65 for men and 60 for women. In the light of very negative demographic forecasts, this step seems dramatic.
