Ageing populations and falling birthrates have left ever fewer workers to support growing number of retirees
I
t has played a starring role in one of the worst periods of political turmoil in France since the 1960s. In Germany, it threatens the future of the coalition government. In Spain, thousands have taken to the streets to demand change.
The right to a decent state pension has been a central plank of the European social contract for decades, but people are living longer, birthrates are falling, and the continent’s pension systems are, increasingly, unsustainable.
Most countries operate a “pay as you go” system, whereby those currently in work pay the pensions of those who have retired. So when fewer people are contributing to schemes that have more drawing on them, and for longer, it becomes a problem fast.
