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Resolution 1882 (2012) Final version
Decent pensions for all
1. European pension systems are faced
with challenges from demographic developments which are threatening
the stability of the “intergenerational contract” that has been
in place since the early 20th century. The ageing of the population,
life expectancy that extends well beyond retirement age and the
imbalance between the number of pensioners and the number of contributors
of working age are just some examples of these challenges. In the
current context of economic and financial crisis, the national austerity
programmes adopted by many member States also have repercussions
on pension systems, which lead to new social inequalities between
pensioners.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly, conscious of the efforts made
by the governments of numerous member States to enhance the viability
of their pension systems, is concerned about the guarantee of adequate
pension levels that offer pensioners a decent standard of living.
3. It therefore considers that pensioners require special protection
in accordance with Article 23 of the revised European Social Charter
(ETS No. 163), which provides that parties must, among other things, undertake
to make available to elderly persons “adequate resources enabling
them to lead a decent life and play an active part in public, social
and cultural life”.
4. To take up the dual challenge of current demographic trends
in Europe and the financial and economic crisis, European pension
systems should not be geared exclusively to a funded approach. While
such methods of financing pensions may represent a solution to the
problem of demographic trends, they are less effective in absorbing
financial and economic shocks. The predominance of funded components
would heighten the vulnerability of pension systems, which would
become less resilient to the risks of the financial markets. To ensure
the viability and sustainability of pension systems, a balance must
therefore be struck between funded and pay-as-you-go components.
5. Given the ongoing financial and economic crisis, the complexity
of pension systems and the multitude of possible choices, it will
be vital to resolve the problem of State budget deficits in general
and, in particular, the deficits of public pension funds, in order
to be able to maintain the principle of intergenerational solidarity. In
this connection, a real revitalisation of the economy, which should
also benefit households, will be the decisive factor in promoting
positive developments for pensions in Europe.
6. The Assembly calls on the member States of the Council of
Europe to apply the following principles in their national policies:
6.1. on a general level:
6.1.1. implement
pension systems which reflect the complexity of today’s work situations
and lifestyles;
6.1.2. continue to combat the persistent inequalities in pension
systems, especially between women and men;
6.1.3. initiate or complete pension reforms that maintain both
the long-term viability of systems (including when facing future
financial and economic crises) and pension adequacy;
6.1.4. provide clear information which everyone can understand
on the effects of reforms on current pension schemes, particularly
in order to enlist sufficient support for them;
6.2. with regard to the sustainability of systems:
6.2.1. adapt
the retirement age and the level and period of contributions to
take account of increased life expectancy;
6.2.2. design national pension systems based on several pillars
and a “mix” of sources of pension income (with funded and pay-as-you-go
components), while preserving and consolidating intra- and intergenerational
solidarity, which confirms the State’s central role and State pensions
as the bedrock of pension systems;
6.2.3. promote international co-operation on pensions, given
that pensions are increasingly becoming a transnational matter,
extending beyond the European Union (migrant professionals, international
pension funds, pensioners living out of the country, etc.);
6.2.4. where possible, restrict access to early retirement schemes
and other possibilities of early withdrawal from the labour market;
6.3. with regard to pension adequacy:
6.3.1. ensure
an appropriate standard of living for pensioners by providing them,
via the pay-as-you-go public pension system, with a minimum income
at least equal to the national poverty threshold;
6.3.2. pursue policies promoting the creation of jobs with sufficient
pay to increase the capacity of individuals in work to make their
own retirement provisions and promote such supplementary provision;
6.3.3. take account of the new lifestyles of families and the
increase in average life expectancy in the resources allocated to
public pension funds;
6.3.4. find appropriate solutions for people with periods in
their career in which they have made no pension contributions (such
as those, mainly women, with family responsibilities, in low-paid or
precarious jobs, or the long-term unemployed who are unable to contribute
or save enough for a decent pension);
6.3.5. provide financial assistance for parents with dependent
children to enable them to bring up and support their children and,
at the same time, save enough for their own retirement;
6.3.6. provide specific solutions for categories of people who
require special protection and who are less able to prepare for
their retirement (people with disabilities, migrants, etc.);
6.3.7. make it easier for older workers to continue working on
a gradually decreasing basis and allow them to combine a pension
with a part-time salary;
6.3.8. take into account the problems of dependence;
6.4. as a complement to measures concerning pension systems
and as part of general policy for the elderly, promote innovatory
approaches, such as services for the elderly (based, for example,
on mutual assistance schemes), which could supplement measures taken
in respect of pensions.