- cross-posted to:
- uk_politics
- unitedkingdom
- cross-posted to:
- uk_politics
- unitedkingdom
The way I see it there are three realistic choices a country can make.
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Raise the pension age. Not very popular with the public as illustrated by protests everywhere this has been mentioned.
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Increased migration. Not very popular with the public as seen by the rise of far right parties in both Europe and outside.
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Lowered living standards. Not very popular because who wants to pay the same taxes but get less out of it?
This isn’t a UK problem. It’s the entire western world. And no, the populist idea of “just have more kids” doesn’t solve it.
Any ideas?
The only real solution is to raise the pension age, despite how unpopular it is, and make affordable to have kids.
The raise in the age is obvious: as long as the life expectancy increase you have an increasing part of the population to pay. It is cynical but there is no way that a system designed to handle a 75 years life expectancy could handle a situation where a 85 years life expectancy is the norm and not the exception. Moreover, probably a 60 years old today is more able to work than a 60 years old in the 1980’s. (the ages are just an example, but you get the point).
And the only obvious way to compensate for more old people is to have more kids (the other is to increase immigration, but you should only allow people who do not burden welfare).
In the time span in which life expectancy rose from 75 to 85 years, productivity increased significantly. Granted, weekly working hours were reduced a bit, but there should be lots left to even lower the pension age.
The risen productivity was not fully given back to the workers.
I still think that you cannot lower the pension age while the life expectancy rose, there is no way a system like this will be ever balanced.
Not completely, I agree.