Advocates assessing the introduction of “automatic adjustment mechanisms” that adapt some system parameters to changes
MADRID, 19 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Director General of Economy and Statistics of the Bank of Spain, Ángel Gavilán, considers that it is “probable” that new actions will be required to deal with the increases in spending on pensions that will result from the aging of the population and has urged that the system be provided with greater transparency and predictability, in order to offer certainty to citizens and facilitate their decision-making.
“The higher future spending on pensions associated with the repeal of the Pension Revaluation Index and the Sustainability Factor has not yet been fully offset by the new measures recently introduced,” warned the Director General of the Economy at a conference in the II Forum on Aging, entitled ‘Some challenges and opportunities associated with aging’.
Among the new actions for the future, Gavilán believes that it would be advisable to strengthen the link between the contributions made and the benefits received, ensuring a sufficient level for the most vulnerable households. In addition, he advocates analyzing the redistributive consequences and in terms of intergenerational equity of the proposed future reforms.
It also considers that it might be convenient to assess the introduction of automatic adjustment mechanisms that adapt some parameters of the system to the changes that occur in demographic and economic dynamics.
According to Gavilán, addressing the many challenges posed by demographic change requires decisive action in multiple areas. For example, he believes that it would be convenient to analyze and address the reasons for the low fertility rate in Spain; adapt migration policy to the changing needs of the labor market; mitigate the deterioration that occurs in the employability of workers as they age and promote more flexible working conditions.
And it is that, in the current context, Gavilán has warned that the cognitive skills necessary for the use of new technologies are less present in older workers.
For this reason, he has insisted that, given this “life cycle of skills”, it is essential to promote training and favor the reassignment of tasks and more flexible forms of work, as well as improving the digital knowledge of the elderly – especially with low education -. “It is crucial both for their employability and for their day-to-day life,” he reiterated.
In Spain, life expectancy at birth has grown by two years for every decade since 1975, while the birth rate has plummeted. In both dimensions –high life expectancy and low birth rate–, Spain stands out among the OECD countries and in the coming years, the country will experience the most pronounced increase in the dependency rate in the European Union, according to Eurostat.
“The challenges posed by population aging are, in reality, an opportunity: Spain has a privileged starting position to compete in the provision of goods and services for the elderly,” Gavilán pointed out.
