Holland in good shape to get old

Despite fears that the Netherlands is facing a serious problem with an aging population and low birthrate, the country is well-prepared compared with other EU countries, the Telegraaf reports.


Quoting European Commission research due to be published today, the paper says the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Austria are in good shape to cope with a large elderly population, while Germany, France and the UK will have to triple or quadruple their efforts to cover the cost.
The European population is set to contain 34 million people aged over 80 by 2030, compared with 19 million today. At the same time, the working population is set to fall by 20 million, according to Eurostat figures.
Earlier this week, unions and employers criticised the political parties for creating confusion about their plans to finance the greying population in the election campaign. The two parties in the current government – the Liberals (VVD) and Christian Democrats – have both pledged to keep the pension age untouched, while Labour wants to make wealthier pensioners contribute state pension premiums for life.

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