Eureko: public pension systems will face crisis in 2030

Throughout Europe, the public pension systems (1st pillar) will be unable to cope with the demographic pressure after 2030, making it necessary to introduce private pensions as quickly as possible, explained Maarten Dijkshoorn, president and general manager of the financial group Eureko, in a conference held in Brussels at the end of last week. He placed Romania among Europe’s reforming states as regards the introduction of the private pension system, alongside other countries in the region, as well as in Western Europe. The Eureko group is present through Interamerican in Romania. Two months after the sale of mandatory pensions started, Interamerican ranks fifth among the largest mandatory pension funds on the market, with a 6.25% market share and over 137,000 clients. Eureko officials added that Europe’s population would diminish by 50-60 million people by 2050, whilst Romania’s population will drop by around 4 or 5 million people. In other words, the economically active population, which sustains the public pension system through contributions, will see a significant decline, while the elderly population will grow at a similarly high rate. That is why the dependency ratio (the senior population and the population who is too young to work measured against the overall population) will double throughout Europe by 2050, Eureko’s CEO explained.