Topic Highlights:
Old age pensions in EU countries
Low birth rates and a stable increase in life expectancy mean that the ratio of younger to older citizens is decreasing constantly. Whereas in 1960 there were six persons aged 15 to 64 for every person aged
65+ in Germany, this ratio has since dropped to approximately three over the last 50 years. And the ratio is set to drop further still. The current demographic transition means societies all across the European Union are set to face considerable social, financial and economic challenges.
The European Commission recently launched a discussion about how to secure adequate, sustainable and safe pensions in future.
Please consult the statistical tables, publications and links below for more information on topics such as demographic transition, employment, pensions and old age
pensioners. For further information on the data including methodogical aspects please click on the respective metadata symbol 
.
Eurostat Data
Data on life expectancy and mortality
Life
expectancy by sex and age in the EU
Life expectancy: projected data
Assumptions
up to 2060
| MS Excel
file
Labour Force Survey (LFS) main indicators
Average
exit age from the labour force
Income and living conditions
Relative median income ratio (65+)
Proportion of population aged 65 and over (TGM)
Table
| Graph
| Map
Old-age-dependency ratio (TGM)
This indicator is the ratio between the total number of elderly persons of an age when they are generally economically inactive (aged 65 and over) and the number of persons of working age (from 15 to 64).
Table
| Graph
| Map
Aggregate replacement ratio
(TGM)
The indicator is defined as the ratio of the median individual gross pensions of 65-74 age category relative to median individual gross earnings of 50-59 age category, excluding other social
benefits.
Table
| Graph
| Map
Expenditure on pensions (% of GDP)
(TGM)
Pensions are defined as the sum of the following social benefits: disability pension, early-retirement due to reduced capacity to work, old-age pension, anticipated old-age pension, partial pension, survivors' pension, early-retirement benefit for labour market
reasons.
Table
| Graph
| Map
At-risk-of-poverty rate, by age group (TGM)
The indicator is defined as the share of persons with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is set at 60 % of the national median equivalised disposable income.
Table
| Graph
| Map
Publications on this topic
The social situation in the European Union 2009 (especially chapter 2.11)
Further information on this topic
- Discussion suggestion for retirement in the EU
- Interactive questionnaire of the EU Commission for the discussion
- Pension systems in the European Union
The Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission in order to gauge public opinion in the EU Member States.
- Social climate: Full report (Chapter 2.3)
- Monitoring the social impact of the crisis (Chapter 8)
- Eurobarometer # 72 (Page 11)
OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
