Older People in the Labour Market

Population ageing is one of the greatest social and economic challenges of the 21st century Europe, since due to longer life expectancy the number of older people (aged 65 or more) is constantly increasing. The publication describes the current demographic situation and on the basis of population projections predicts what lies ahead. We examined how many people in Slovenia are still in the labour market after completing 50 years of age and once again found that the ratio between the number of persons in employment and the number of retired persons is constantly getting worse and that despite some recent changes the pension system will very soon become unsustainable again. Demographic predictions and the current pension system call for reforms; they will have to focus on making people work longer, which will have to be balanced by the arrival of young people on the labour market. However, with the current economic crisis this will be a tough nut to crack.