With the rise of the market realities and decline of the welfare state, there is a crisis in social security and pension schemes almost all over the world. The pension level in the developing world is already quite low, and pensioners barely survive on it and their savings. There is a lot of strain on pension schemes in the developed world as well. Since 2004 the government employees in India, for example, have coverage under a new pension scheme which is not even half as good as the existing one. Its impact would be felt when people covered under the new scheme start retiring in around 2040. In view of these realities, what do you think would be the source of survival for the retirees?
Not easy...
It's not been easy at all in my country, in which tax payers are less than half of those that live on welfare and social security...
Not easy...
It's not been easy at all in my country, in which tax payers are less than half of those that live on welfare and social security...
Dear Debi S. Saini,
Very serious issue! Rightly raised!
But Government sector is withdrawing and further, may completely stop pension and other social security options.
Fortunately, other options for re-employment after retirement are available and will increase. People must use.
Must not depend on Government Sector social security options!
Dear Sir, In my country (India) elderly people who are getting pension from government will live with all happiness if they have control on your wishes. But the seen for elderly people without pension is entirely different. It is going to be difficult next 20 years Sir. Regards
It is indeed interesting to know what Chun is saying. Perhaps, that is what retirees in the thirties onwards are likely to land up in i.e dealing in property business to make money for their old age. But then, there would be danger of recession of the type we had 2008 onwards due to excessive houses in the USA, which shook the whole world. Posterity would have to find answers to this problem, which indeed is a complex one, as dear Subhash and Maria have rightly observed.
It has been rightly mentioned by Barbara that the problem is not limited to the pensioners alone. Social security as such is going to be a serious issue even with those not contributing to the pension funds as they are self-employed, for example. State is increasingly unwilling and incapable to fund these expenditures. That is a natural fallout of the policies involved in the globalization syndrome.
Dear @Debi, after long time here You are again! I am very glad for. Regarding the issue You have raised, pension funds have been looted, and now many pensioners live in poverty. 40% of pensioners at the poverty level. Considering the poor state of the economy and the general economic trends, I can conclude that even more difficult days come for pensioners in Serbia, the prediction for 20 years is almost impossible!
Future planning and accepting re-employment, specifically, in emerging private sector may be the potential option available.
I am very sceptical upon pension schemes, especially here in Greece.
We are going from the one edge (people 45 years old to have a pension) to the other edge (people after 40+ years of work not to be able to live with their pension)
I really wonder what on Earth do the human elites want to create: The re-opening of ancient Greek Kaiadas1?
1See here:
http://www.quora.com/Did-the-actual-historical-Sparta-have-a-bottomless-pit-in-the-middle-of-town
My advise is to be fit, I mean maintain physical fitness and health so you could live as if you are 20 years younger. In this case you will not worry with the rise of the market realities and decline of the welfare state.
Private personal insurances and new schemes of part time jobs for elderly people are my only "forecast". This latter could even be a new business: non profit organizations or cooperatives where elderly people can still work till they fill to be active. these could be linked to a private insurance system that helps for the rest of one's life....
Dear Chun, In developing countries like India we have problem of massive unemployment and under-employment. Perhaps, this factor inhibits governments to prolong work years. In fact, some state governments in India have lowered the retirement age from 60 to 58 years. So, this suggestion is not workable here. I know, the UK government is using this route to cope with the pension funding problems.
Dear Debi,
Dear All,
This is a hard question to which governments should find an appropriate answer. This also means that economic processes are not going as they would have to go. Another consequence is that business and political ethics are moving away from traditional human values. Third consequence the tragic environmental situation has part of the sad outlooks of elderly people.
Dear All,
Elderly people’s problem is part of the transcendent paradigm trouble. We are following a false paradigm. General tiny alterations will not help. This is a system failure! See the 12 point of Donella Meadows
http://www.natcapsolutions.org/Presidio/Articles/WholeSystems/ThinkingInSystems_MEADOWS_TiS%20v13.2_DRAFT.pdf
http://center.sustainability.duke.edu/sites/default/files/documents/system_intervention.pdf
Dear Debi
The problem of old age to tell more precisely the pension problem is a headache for all countries of the world both developed and emerging or underdeveloped as we called them. No country in the different level of life and different cultures holds the solution. Is it only the fault of the politicians of these countries?
That's my opinion and I assume I do not think that the problem is only related to the retirement policy choices and whatever the country. I think ve problem must be shared by everyone. I think the time has come to reflect on how we live, sharing between different sections of society. I deamnde me that a minority of people hold the riches of this world to talk of billions of retirees who are unable to reach their end of month. It is truly hypocrisy and selfishness that prevails over the generosity and sharing. This problem really requires a global charter. This may seem utopian to those who still want to take advantage of the poverty of others.
Best regards
Is There an Alternative to the Pay-As-You-Go Pension System in Serbia by Nikola Altiparmakov, member of Serbian Fiscal Council!
"The pension system in Serbia is based on the principle of intergenerational solidarity and Pay-As-You-Go financing: pension payments to current pensioners are financed from the pension contributions of current employees. Most countries in Europe and in the world also have public PAYG pension systems based on intergenerational solidarity. When public pension systems were formed - in the early 20th century in most countries - opting for pay-as-you-go financing was a logical choice, due to the high fertility rates in those times. However, since then most of the world has experienced demographic aging; life expectancy has significantly increased, while fertility rates have declined to levels which no longer enable even simple population reproduction in most European countries... Pension reform efforts should thus focus on parametric PAYG changes and adequate integration of voluntary retirement saving vehicles into the Serbian pension system....The only feasible approach to overcoming the significant operating costs
associated with MPPFs is to opt for pension prefunding through PPRF."
http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0013-3264/2013/0013-32641398089A.pdf
I fully agree with the points made by Cecila and others. Even in the developing world, joint family is disintegrating, especially in case of many educated families due to the convergence effect. Surprisingly, there are no old homes for the aged like in the west. There are cases where the children grab parents' home by trickery. There are also cases of sibling quarrel about who would keep the parents and how would the responsibility be shared. A situation of indignity gets created. In case, the elderly have some savings, the interest on these is eaten away by double digit inflation. On the top of it, there is income tax on the interest earned on savings without indexing the inflation. Government thinks that all elderly would invest in the corporate sector; but there are a large number of cheats in this sector who do window dressing to their accounts to show a rosy picture of the company. The real protection provided by the regulating agencies is meager. Thus, the hapless, senior citizens as we call them in India, gets cornered from all sides. All this perpetuates their poverty as has been observed by Roland and other colleagues.
Preparation for the retirement life requires certain basic fulfilment of familial needs
- Children by then should have completed their education.
- Planning a simple lifestyle with an acceptance to take a leisurely paced life is required mentally.
- Fine tunning activities, which can be continued during retirement, can be identified and perused while on service.
- Accepting to be available for future generations at home and at work related passion areas, can utilise energy expenses.
Should I comment anything!? Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian Prime Minister, on Wednesday said pensions and salaries in the public sector over 25,000 dinars [€211] a month will be cut by between 3 and 20 per cent as of October 2014! Just read!
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-decides-to-cut-down-pensions-and-salaries
http://inserbia.info/today/2014/10/serbia-pension-salary-cuts-from-november-1/
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