European governments trim pension spending, risking older voters
Governments in Britain, Romania, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are cutting or tightening pension payments, the Telegraph reported.
European governments are increasingly trimming pension spending, risking older voters' support, Russia's state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph reported that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has proposed removing wage growth from the annual pension indexation formula from 2030.
The change could cost British pensioners £1,600 ($2,100) a year over the next 20 years, the newspaper reported.
Under pressure from the European Union to reduce its budget deficit, Romania decided to freeze state pensions for two years starting in 2025, the paper reported.
French authorities have proposed limiting pension indexation to payments of up to €1,260 a month, the newspaper also reported.
The Czech government has cut extra indexation tied to wage growth, while Slovakia plans to link its retirement age to life expectancy, the newspaper reported.
Under that plan, Slovakia's retirement age could reach 64 by 2030 and keep rising after that, according to the newspaper's account.
An analyst from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) told the newspaper that population aging would inevitably force changes to pension systems across Europe.
Europe has an older population, with fewer workers supporting each retiree, which puts growing strain on public pension budgets.
Many governments in the bloc are also working to bring down deficits, and pensions are among the largest items in public spending.