Madrid (EFE).- Raising the retirement age or increasing the number of years of contributions required for access to a pension are the main measures of the pension reforms undertaken by European countries and which, as in France, seek the sustainability of this pillar of the welfare system.
Most European countries have reformed their pension systems or are planning to do so by raising the retirement age, although with differences ranging, for example, between 67 in Germany and 64 in France.
However, almost all of them allow you to retire before the established age as long as you have long working careers which, in the French case, will reach 43 years of contributions.
Regarding the average pension, there are also differences by country, from 487 euros per month in Portugal to 1,509 euros in France, through 833 euros in Greece, 1,079 euros in Germany, 1,285 euros in Italy and almost 1,300 euros. from Spain.
Average European spending on pensions represented 13.6% of GDP in 2020, according to Eurostat data, although in countries such as Greece (17.8%), Italy (17.6%), Portugal (15%) , France (15.9%), Austria (15.3%), Finland (13.9%) and Spain (14.5%) was above this average.
In these data, it must be taken into account, the unions explain, that in 2020, with the pandemic, nominal GDP has fallen, which would show a greater proportional weight of pension spending.
These are the main milestones of the pension reforms carried out by different European countries:
France
The French government has just presented a reform plan that plans to progressively raise the minimum retirement age from the current 62 years to 64 in 2030, something that is opposed by the left and the extreme right, as well as by the unions that They have been on the move for days.
It also wants to speed up the contribution period necessary to have a full pension, bringing forward to 2027 the increase in the number of years required from the current 42 to 43, something that was expected to be applied in 2035.
spain
Spain approved in 2021 a reform of the pension system with which it linked its revaluation to inflation and which encouraged the delay in the real retirement age, through greater penalties for early retirement and better incentives for those who continue in the labor market beyond of the legal.
However, it is negotiating with social agents and political groups to launch a second phase of the reform that could increase the period of years required to calculate the amount of the pension above the current 25 years.
Germany
Germany is in the process of gradually delaying the retirement age, so that in 2031 it reaches 67 years of age with 35 years of contributions.
This implies that, for those born after 1947, the retirement age has been delayed since 2012 by one month each year until 2023 and, from 2024, it will be delayed by two months per year for those born after 1959 .
However, the measure excludes people who have contributed for a minimum of 45 years, and groups such as people with severe disabilities or workers in the mining sector.
Italia
The Italian Government approved in the general budgets for 2023 a small modification of the so-called Fornero law, the last reform of the pension system introduced in 2011 by the technocratic Executive of Mario Monti for which to receive the entire pension it was necessary to add the “Quota 100”, that is, having a minimum of 62 years of age and 38 years of contributions, something that only those who retire between 2019 and 2021 could benefit from.
With the change introduced now, the Executive will apply the “Quota 103”, which will allow you to retire from work at 62 years of age, but with 41 years of contributions, waiting to undertake a comprehensive reform of the pension system next year.
However, accessing retirement in Italy with a minimum pension is possible at age 67, with at least 20 years of contributions.
Portugal
Portugal is not yet immersed in a reform of the pension system, but the Government created in June 2022 a commission to study the sustainability of Social Security and new forms of financing, which will have to present its final report this year.
The retirement age varies according to the evolution of life expectancy and is established at 66 years and four months for 2023 and 2024, without penalty regardless of the years of contribution.
Greece
In November last year, the Hellenic Parliament approved a small pension reform, linking its revaluation to economic indicators such as GDP, so that in January they rose by 7.75%, the first increase after 12 years of stagnation and snips of more than 50% during the financial crisis.
In addition, the Conservative government lowered the contributions for private sector workers by three percentage points in 2020, and as of this year “special” contributions that had been introduced during the financial crisis were eliminated.
The age to receive the full pension in Greece is 62 years with 40 years of contribution, or 67 with 15 years.
United Kingdom
In the UK, it is possible to claim a state pension upon reaching the age of 66 and having contributed for at least 10 years. The maximum pension, of 904 euros per month, is awarded after 35 years of contributions.
The Pension Law approved in 2014 establishes a calendar until the 2040s, which provides that the minimum age to request it will increase to 67 years between 2026 and 2028, and up to 68 years between 2044 and 2048, although these dates are reviewed every five years. .
However, the British pension system is mixed, since since 2012 companies must include their employees in a private pension plan in which a minimum of 8% of salary is contributed each month (3% paid by the company and 5% by the employee).
Ireland
The Republic of Ireland grants the contributory state pension after reaching the age of 66 and after having made a sufficient number of payments to the social security of this country, which can grant a maximum pension of 1,150 euros per month.
To obtain the maximum contributory pension, it is necessary to start contributing before reaching the age of 56 and make at least 520 payments of the highest rate to social security, or have made at least 260 contributions of the highest rate if the applicant met the 66 years before 2012.