Instead of 65, workers in Germany will retire at 67 in 2031. Retirement threshold has been moving up little by little year-on-year and this has become a global trend.
Could Serbia potentially anticipate a similar situation? Based on the opinions of experts, it appears that individuals in Serbia may find some reassurance, at least for the present. These experts highlight that it may not be appropriate to raise the retirement age at this moment, as the life expectancy of Serbian citizens is not sufficiently extended to warrant an extension of their working years.
Prior to 2012, workers in Germany had the option to retire at the age of 65. However, since then, this threshold has been gradually increased by one month each year. Consequently, the current retirement age stands at 65 years and 11 months. Nevertheless, starting in the upcoming year, the retirement age will be further extended by two months. Furthermore, by the year 2031, individuals will be required to retire at the age of 67.
The increase in retirement age was justified by the German authorities, who explained that their country is experiencing a decline in the number of children being born and a steady rise in life expectancy.
In Serbia, we are currently faced with similar demographic challenges. Unfortunately, our country’s population is on a decline, and out of approximately 6,834,000 residents, a significant portion of 1.65 million comprises pensioners. This equates to roughly 24 per cent of the overall population.
Hence, the inquiry arises regarding whether it would be advisable to consider raising the retirement age in our country as well. Duško Vuković, vice-president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia, suggests that he cannot definitively predict if Serbia would experience a situation similar to Germany’s, but he does express that there seems to be insufficient reasoning behind having such a substantial population of pensioners.
“Throughout their working lives, which can last up to 45 years, employees have pension and social security contributions deducted from gross pay every month, while some employers don’t even pay those payroll contributions.” Workers usually find out when they submit their pension records to the authorities present,” adds Vuković.
According to Vuković, that is where the issue lies.
Vuković concludes that if employers consistently paid salary contributions, it would prevent the depletion of the pension fund and avoid the situation where individuals are required to work beyond their retirement age due to the lack of funds in the state budget.
