Increasing the retirement age is one of the basic actions – says the director of the Institute of Statistics and Demography of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), Professor Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak. According to her, the low retirement age is discriminatory, especially for women who, due to shorter working hours, later receive lower benefits.
– I believe that (equalizing the retirement age – ed.) is an absolute necessity, because today's low retirement age for women discriminates against women. Their benefits are lower than those of men by over a thousand zlotys, precisely because they are transferred more quickly retirement and they work shorter hours – said prof. Chłoń-Domińczak.
Retirement age in Poland
As she pointed out, equal retirement age for women and men is a standard in almost all European Union countries. – Lately Romania equalized the retirement age, so we are really behind Europe. A change is clearly needed here, she said.
She added that “eight countries have introduced solutions in which the retirement age changes along with life expectancy. 65 years for women and men is therefore the absolute minimum.”
Challenges in the face of the demographic crisis
Prof. When asked about the challenges that should be taken in the face of the demographic crisis, Chłoń-Domińczak explained that “increasing the retirement age is one of the basic actions.” In addition, it is necessary to develop long-term care, i.e. the health care system.
– We have more and more 80- and 90-year-olds requiring daily care. In this context, we should also focus on the health care system, because we have increasingly older doctors and older nurses, she said.
In her opinion, in the face of the demographic crisis, it is also necessary to “prepare the youngest generations for longer professional activity.” – Lifelong learning, adapting to change is something that affects today's youth more and more – she said.
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