EU must adapt to meet rising number of retirees, report says

Apr 2, 2011, 10:23 GMT

Brussels - A European Union report Friday presented a stark picture of the policy choices facing the bloc as increasing life-expectancy and low fertility rates were forecasted to lead to a near-doubling of the retirement-age population by 2060.

The EU's Demography Report said that the share of the population over 65 and over is projected to increase from 17.4 per cent in 2010 to 30 per cent in 2060.

'The need to adjust EU policies to these developments is clearer than ever,' the European Commission said in a statement.

One of the report's authors, speaking anonymously, said that the phenomenon was mainly due to the fact that the so-called 'baby-boom generation' - people born in the immediate post-war period - was approaching retirement age.

'Until three years ago, across the EU we had one million people a year turning 60. Since then, the number has gone up to 2 million, and every year we have 2 million more people who are reaching 60,' the EU source said.

The study also said that life expectancy was increasing by 2-3 months every year. Latest EU figures from 2008 showed that females lived on average 82.4 years, men 76.4 years.

At the same time, the fertility rate, at 1.6 child per woman, remained well below the 2.1 'replacement rate' - the level needed to keep population from decreasing.

An increase in migration - with the share of migrants over the total population expected to double from 13 per cent in 2008 to 26 per cent in 2060 - would not be enough to prevent an overall fall in EU population, the report said.

A previous UN report from 2001 estimated that the EU's then 15 members needed to let in 47.5 million immigrants into their borders to keep their population numbers constant - a far higher number than is expected to be allowed under current policies.

Laszlo Andor, the EU commissioner for social policy, called on the bloc to 'promote a better work/life balance' to support working adults with children and to design policies 'to encourage Europeans to remain active longer.'

Andor did not make specific suggestions such as raising the minimum pension age - a politically toxic issue that is being debated in many EU states.

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