EU proposes adjusting Hungary’s retirement age: here’s how
In Hungary, the expected number of healthy years after the retirement age of 65 is alarmingly low, with both men and women averaging just five more healthy years. This statistic places Hungary at the bottom of the European Union rankings. Experts argue that if life expectancy decreases, the retirement age should be adjusted accordingly to reflect these demographic realities.
The EU is considering a policy that would link the retirement age to changes in life expectancy across member states, including Hungary, Dívány reports, based on Nyugdíjguru. This approach aims to address the challenge of setting retirement policies when life expectancy is shorter than anticipated.
Hungarian pensioners’ life expectancy lower than in the EU
Photo: depositphotos.com
Currently, the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old man in the EU is 17.3 years, while for women it is 20.9 years. However, in Hungary, these numbers are significantly lower: Hungarian men can expect an additional 13.2 years, and women 17.3 years. As a result, Hungarian men typically spend around 13-14 years in retirement, while women spend about 20-21 years. Notably, Hungarian women often retire earlier, around ages 61-62, due to early retirement policies, while men must wait until 65.
Only 73% of Hungarian men and 87% of women reach the age of 65. Furthermore, the number of healthy years they experience post-retirement is just 4.9 years, one of the lowest figures in the EU. This situation forces many elderly Hungarians to endure health issues and reduced quality of life during their retirement years.
Several EU countries have already raised or plan to raise the retirement age in response to demographic trends. For instance, Spain aims to increase it to 67 by 2027, Belgium by 2030, Germany by 2031, Denmark to 69 by 2035, and Italy to 69 years and 9 months by 2050. Sweden operates a flexible retirement system allowing citizens to retire between the ages of 63 and 69, with earlier retirement leading to lower pension benefits.
Retirement age increased in Hungary
Source: depositphotos.com
In Hungary, the retirement age increased from 62 to 65 years between 2010 and 2020, surpassing the retirement age in 11 other EU member states. Despite this rapid increase, the corresponding rise in life expectancy has not kept pace, suggesting that further raising the retirement age may not be necessary at this time. However, the EU’s proposed policy would allow for adjustments if life expectancy were to change, ensuring that retirement policies remain fair and sustainable.
The EU recommends that Hungary adopt a flexible approach similar to other member states, where the retirement age is adjusted based on life expectancy at age 65. This policy would allow for a reduction in the retirement age if life expectancy declines, ensuring that the retirement system is responsive to demographic and health trends.
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6 Comments
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Brussels should fix its spending and economy before interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs. In other words, Brussels go to hell.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Mariavontheresa,
could you at least try and learn to be reasonable and realistic in your unruly statements?
And keep to the matter at hand instead of just spitting out sour and irrelevant outbursts!
The extremely low number of years of expected life for a pensioner in Hungary would really not be any better if they just lower the retirement age as suggested by the EU.
EU’s remedy for this unlucky situation would be equal to piss in your trousers on a icy winter day to keep warm.
“This situation forces many elderly Hungarians to endure health issues and reduced quality of life during their retirement years”.
Yes, this is very obviously if you look around in the streets or at the hospitals receptions, I have never seen so many ill and miserable bad looking elderly people than here in Hungary.
Instead of crying out to EU for help in forcing Hungary to change the retirement age, people here should rather put pressure on our politicians to make it possible to raise the health situation and conditions for the elderly people. Like so many other aspects in the society here the conditions for the sick and elderly people are way below what you find in all the other EU countries. The government are doing very little if anything to raise the standards of health and medical care for those who need it most.
The most important reason to the miserable health condition in Hungary is the way people live. They are eating, drinking and smoking themselves to death, combined with a life in obesity and laziness. The occurrence of illnesses and deaths of hearth failures and general unhealthy life and diet are among the highest in EU. As long as people chose to live like that, it will certainly not be of any use to try and legislate them out of the situation.
The only way to change the situation would be to facilitate for a more healthy life, combined with a better health care. The government should try and establish a politically free and professional independent Directorate of Health within the Department of Health that could act as a motor for informing and influencing people to lead a more healthy life. Also the government should change the tax and price policy, like the VAT duty on certain food groups, so that it would inspire people to buy more healthy food by removing or drastically reduce the VAT on vegetables, fruit, fish and meager meat and plant oils, and raising the VAT on unhealthy fat like swine lard and fat ham, alcohol and tobacco etc.
People here in Hungary are actually living in a desperate situation because the group we are speaking of has no real choice in the way of living.
The majority of elderly and sick people has so low an income, either pension or wages, that they really can not afford to buy the kind of food that could secure a healthy life. They just have to buy the worst food, junk food which apparently is cheaper, but dangerous. This goes not only for the elderly but also for a major part of ordinary working people with low education and low paid work.
As long as we have a government and a leading party that coldblooded ignores these facts, the situation for this big and vulnerable group will not change, regardless of whatever political tricks they are introducing over our heads. Only by attacking the problem by the roots the situation and eventually the unlucky statistics for Hungary and its population has any hope of change.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
You really don’t want Hungary to remain an EU member, do you, Maria?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
What the hell does this have to do with the E.U.!?!?!
When Hungary was joining that vaunted club, NOBODY said we’d be subjected to this level of interference!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Related issue is working age decline due to low fertility and emigration in the permanent population, who pay taxes to support budgets for more retirees or pesnsoners.
Maybe some form of retirement transition to encourage those who are fit, to remain in the workforce and delaying retirement; and maybe lower tax rate for retirement age workers on earning extra income?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
You are absolutely right. Brussels’ dictatorship is tantamount to the Third Reich’s. Hungary should remain a neutral state. Brussels should go to hell!!!!