Europe / Paying for growing numbers of old people

Long after the debt crisis is over, Europe will be grappling with an even more serious problem – how to pay for growing numbers of old people.

The population of some countries is stagnant or already shrinking, notably Germany’s. That will reduce savings and potential economic growth.

The workers who remain are getting older and so are less productive. That will hold back living standards.

And the ranks of retirees are swelling. That will threatening the financing of pensions and health care.

In the 27 countries of the European Union, each pensioner is today supported on average by four people of working age. By 2050, this old-age support ratio will have fallen to just 2:1, according to United Nations and EU projections.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via Insight: Aging deepens debt-laden Europe’s economic woes | Reuters.