Pensions

Pensions arrived like a tsunami in the electoral pre-campaign. One side and the other threw them at each other as a tool to win votes, given the electoral base they represent. Catastrophic messages occupy a space that should be one of debate, reflection, and consensus. Although some insinuate it, the pension of those currently receiving it is not at risk. The future is another matter. Demographics, in this respect, resemble mathematics or exact sciences. And for this reason, the Spanish government took measures endorsed by Brussels, aimed at guaranteeing the sustainability of the system.

It is evident that over the coming years the so-called baby-boomers will retire, those people who were born between the end of the 50s and the end of the 70s of the last century. In Catalonia, this will mean that some 825,000 people who are 55 or older, one in five workers, will retire. It is a process that will last about 10 years. The population over 65 will soar to 2.4 million people in 2045, which will account for 30% of the total population, 10 points more than at present, according to the report made by the Labor Observatory, dependent on the Department of Business and Labor.

The labor market, which we need to be as large as possible and with the best possible salaries so that social security contributions are sufficient, will experience obvious tensions. During this process, more workers will leave the labor market heading towards retirement than young people will join it. And furthermore, the former, at the end of their working life, receive higher salaries and corresponding benefits, while young people start out in the world of payrolls with low salaries. This has some solutions: salary increases and incentives for birth rates or immigration or a combination of both.

The analysis by the Labor Observatory also highlights the fact that the qualification of the job positions that will become vacant is higher and, therefore, has higher salaries than that of newcomers. And the majority of the former, furthermore, have full-time occupations. But the impact of this aging process will not be the same in all sectors. It highlights, for example, the retail sector, where almost half of the owners running the business are currently 55 or older and, therefore, are part of this massive retirement process.

It is important to know where there will be the greatest lack of personnel, and the study covers this. In this sense, it highlights that the need for qualified workers will affect, in addition to retail business owners, the agricultural, livestock, and fishing sector; employees in libraries, postal services, and similar, and administrative support professionals. Activities related to information and communications, artistic and entertainment activities, and financial and insurance activities are, on the other hand, the least aged subsectors.

In any case, knowing the data, there should be a calm debate and consensus not only to agree on measures to further guarantee the sustainability of pensions but also to achieve a labor market with salaries and, therefore, social contributions to live with dignity and have future pensions in accordance.