Most Europeans believe that state pensions are in danger

Most Europeans believe that the state pension system will soon become unsustainable and oppose raising the retirement age.

The population is aging and the birth rate is declining, so state pension systems in Europe, cornerstones of the welfare state that have always relied on pensions being paid by employed individuals to retirees, are facing increasing pressure.

Reform efforts face fierce and sometimes violent resistance in countries such as France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. A YouGov survey conducted in six countries - France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom - reveals the extent of public opposition governments are facing, as reported by The Guardian.

Europeans are pessimistic

Many people believe that state pension systems are at an impasse: between 61% and 52% of respondents from Italy, France, Germany, and Spain believe that their pension system is already unsustainable. The same opinion was shared by 45% of respondents from Poland. In the United Kingdom, the level was 32%.

Regarding the future, people are even more pessimistic: between 49% and 66% of respondents from the six countries expect that by the time individuals currently aged 30 and 40 retire, the pension system in their country will become unsustainable.

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Those who are already retired have shown more optimism regarding their country's ability to finance their state pension system. Pensioners in the United Kingdom were the most optimistic, with 62% stating that the state pension is affordable, compared to only 27% of respondents who are not yet retired.

However, despite acknowledging that the system is unsustainable, between 53% and 83% of respondents from the six countries considered that the amount received by pensioners is too low, with this belief being stronger (72-88%) among beneficiaries.

People reject government solutions

The state pension is the sole income for most European retirees. In all six countries, the majority of working respondents - from 57% in Germany and the United Kingdom to 72% in Italy - were not confident that they would have a comfortable pension.

Furthermore, when asked which measures they would support to make state pension schemes more accessible, there was a pronounced reluctance in all six countries towards some reforms that many governments are trying to implement.

The survey found clear opposition to the solutions proposed:

• increasing the state retirement age;
• raising taxes for working-age individuals;
• requiring working-age children to support their retired parents;
• reducing the amount of the state pension.

Opposition to raising the retirement age was strong - from 47% in France to 65% in Germany - with respondents stating that they do not agree that people should wait longer than they do now to receive their state pension.

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20% of British subjects and 38% of Polish respondents believed that the retirement age should be 60, while between 22% (Italy) and 45% (United Kingdom) believed it should be 65.

Opposition to reducing the amount received by pensioners was even greater, ranging from 81% in Germany to 61% in Italy.

Those with large pensions should support small pensions

However, there was support for legally obligating working individuals to contribute to a private pension system or a workplace pension fund. This suggestion was most popular in the United Kingdom (57%), where recent legislative provisions have introduced an automatic payment system into workplace pension schemes, but it also received significant support in Germany (49%) and France (41%).

In all six countries, between 28% and 55% of respondents believe that retirees with pensions higher than the average should bear more of the funding for more generous state pensions for retirees with lower incomes.

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Overall, retirees and working-age individuals responded according to their interests: retirees tended to oppose pension reductions, while working-age individuals largely rejected increasing the state retirement age or taxes for their age group, as shown by the survey.

T.D.