EU Pension Policy

Ellen Nygren, LO Sweden 2012

White paper on pensions

• Ageing population; longevity growth and many new retired people (baby-boomers)

• Financial and economic crisis

• Cross-border features, more of common EU concern

• EU2020; target of 75% employment rate and reducing poverty

White paper on pensions; challenges

• Securing financial sustainability of pension systems

• Maintaining adequacy of pension benefits

• Raising labour market participation of women and older workers

White paper, Annual Growth Surveys

• Link retirement age with life expectancy

• Restrict access to early retirement

• Support longer working lives

• Equalise pension age men/women

• Support development of complementary retirement savings to enhance retirement incomes

ETUC position paper on pensions 2012

• Lack the social purpose when proposing putting back the legal pension age without taking into account length of activity or difficulty of profession and enforcing subscription to private pension schemes

ETUC

• Pension age national decision

• Pension age a matter of employment policies

• Opposed to pushing back legal pension age in a vague manner

• Welcomes special attention to huge differences in benefits men/women

ETUC

• First pillar pensions should be strengthened (social security, more solidarity)

• Active labour market policies (full employment and decent salaries)

• Member states must be responsible for adequate pension

• Reforms must be socially acceptable

Coordination

• Regulation 883/2004

• Massive administration

Austerity measures contradictory

• ETUC position paper on the white paper: denounces the way in which EU intervenes through economic governance with sanctions for member states that do not cut the pension burden radically enough