Telegraph reveals how Europe's 'golden era of pensioners' ended
The “golden era” of pensioners in Europe is coming to an end: the authorities are reducing the indexation of payments and raising the retirement age due to an aging population and budget problems. Reforms affected Britain, France, Romania, writes Telegraph
European countries are increasingly cutting pension spending despite the risk of losing support from older voters. An aging population and budgetary problems are forcing the authorities to review pension systems.
So, in the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham proposed from 2030 to change the mechanism of annual indexation of public pensions, eliminating wage growth. Payments are now rising by the maximum of three: inflation, wage growth, or 2.5%. It is estimated that the changes could cost pensioners £1,600 annually over the next two decades.
Romania has frozen state pensions for two years from 2025, despite double-digit inflation. The measure came under pressure from the EU to reduce the budget deficit. Payments could increase by more than 7% next year.
In France, meanwhile, the government has proposed capping the indexation of pensions above €1,260 per month. Earlier, mass protests forced the authorities to postpone raising the retirement age to 64 years until the presidential election in 2027. At the same time, pension expenditures of the country already exceed 14% of GDP.
In the Czech Republic, the authorities have reduced the additional indexation of pensions tied to wage growth from half to a third of its value. In Slovakia, the retirement age is tied to life expectancy: by 2030 it should reach 64 years and continue to grow.
Andrew Reilly, an expert at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), noted that 20 OECD countries have not yet adopted laws to raise the retirement age. The average retirement age has remained virtually unchanged since the 1970s, despite increasing life expectancy.
According to experts, further ageing of the population will require new changes in pension systems, as many countries become more difficult to finance the previous level of payments.
In September, The Telegraph published an article titled “Running on Pensioners Will Undermine Economic Growth.” In the UK proposed to raise taxes for pensioners, but economists warn about the negative consequences of this initiative for the economy. The older generation now possesses excessive purchasing power – spending that increasingly supports the functioning of the economy.
Meanwhile, the Russian authorities decided to analyze the social and economic situation of the older generation every two years. The report is expected to be released in 2026, 2028 and 2030. For its preparation, a comprehensive analysis will be conducted, following which proposals will be formed “for further sustainable improvement of the socio-economic situation of the older generation.”.
Over the next 15 years, the number of citizens of the older generation in Russia will increase by about 9 million people, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said at the end of December last year.
