According
\nto the labour ministry, the number of Romanian pensioners at the end of June
\nwas 61,000 lower compared with the first half of 2020. Moreover, compared with the
\nsame period in 2019, the number is two times and a half lower, accounting for
\nthe biggest drop in the number of pensioners since 2013. With the Covid-19 pandemic
\nstill very much around, death is the first thing that comes to mind as an
\nexplanation for this decrease in the number of pensioners. Economic analyst C\u0103t\u0103lin
\nGhin\u0103raru explains:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
These
\nexits from the system are either the result of natural causes or the fact that
\nthe legal conditions are no longer met. By this latter case I’m referring to retirement
\ndue to sickness. In this case, the retirement is not definitive, meaning that
\nthe person who is unable to work temporarily because of an accident or illness
\nis not retired for good. They have to undergo regular physical examinations and
\nif found that they are recovered, they must return to work and thus exit the
\npension system. So that’s one explanation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
If
\nwe look, however, at the overall picture of the pension system, we also see a
\nreduction in recent years of entries into the system, that is a drop in the retirement
\nrate. Economic analyst C\u0103t\u0103lin Ghin\u0103raru talks about such cases:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There’s
\nalso a circumstantial cause, so-to-speak, but the number of pensioners has been
\non the decrease for some time, roughly from the first decade of this century, as
\na result of structural changes. Firstly, the effects of laws no. 19 and 263 began
\nto be seen, two laws that raised the retirement age beginning in 2015, to 65
\nfor men and gradually for women to reach 63 by 2030. Also, under a
\nConstitutional Court ruling, women may choose to stay in work until 65, like
\nmen. So, we have this increase in the standard retirement age, which means that
\nboth men and women remain longer on the labour market. Moreover, stricter
\nconditions are now in place for early retirement due to sickness. So, apart
\nfrom the circumstantial factor related to the pandemic, which results in higher
\ndeath rates among the elderly, there are also structural causes arising from a
\nreform of the pension system and whose effects are now starting to become
\nvisible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Faced
\nwith an ongoing demographic crisis, like many other developed states, Romania
\nanyway has an unbalanced ratio of pensioners and people in employment. So, at first
\nsight, the decrease in the number of pensioners may look like good news. C\u0103t\u0103lin
\nGhin\u0103raru:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nratio between active persons and inactive persons and pensioners is not very
\ngood in Romania. The fact that the number of pensioners is seeing a slight
\ndecrease is, let’s say, an encouraging sign. We have a problem with the
\nsustainability of this pension system, but we must also stress that this trend
\nwill not last much longer, given that from 2032 in particular, we will be
\nseeing a sizeable generation going into retirement, those born at the end of the
\n1960s, as a result of a baby boom encouraged by the communist authorities. If
\nretirement conditions are maintained until then, we will, indeed, see a large
\nintake of fresh pensioners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This
\nmay perhaps explain why there has been increasing talk recently about making
\nnew changes to the pension legislation aimed at raising the retirement age to around
\n70, an idea that is met with opposition from the population. Economic analyst C\u0103t\u0103lin
\nGhin\u0103raru tells us how he sees the situation:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nidea to raise the work-place pension contribution to 40 years was not received
\nwell, neither in Romania, nor in other EU countries. It’s quite a long time to
\nbe in employment and work conditions in Romania are not the most favourable.
\nMany are even thinking they may not be able to finish these 40 years. This is
\nwhy the current law, as well the draft of the future law, includes the
\npossibility of purchasing pension contribution. It’s also true that behaviour
\nmay change in time. It’s possible that the generations of people born in the 1960s
\nand 1970s will think differently from earlier generations, given that they entered
\nthe labour market in conditions of free market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For the time being, however, it’s hard to predict
\nthese generations’ choices and behaviour when they reach retirement age. It also
\nremains to be seen what changes will be made to the legislation and how these
\nwill influence people’s views regarding retirement. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A discussion about the causes of the decrease in number of pensioners in Romania in recent years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":84193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[37481],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-143903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-retirement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n