Latvia should raise basic pension to reduce pensioner poverty
Latvia should strengthen old-age safety nets and raise the basic state pension in order to reduce pensioner poverty, especially among women, and address the challenge of a fast declining population, according to a new OECD report.
The OECD Review of the Pension System in Latvia highlights the challenges facing the pension system. Latvia’s working-age population (people aged between 20 and 64 years) is expected to fall by about 20% over the next two decades, due to low fertility rates, increasing life expectancy and high emigration. The pension system is designed to automatically adapt to demographic trends. While this will secure the system’s financial stability over time, it will also reduce pension benefits.
Already today, Latvia’s old-age poverty rate is the second-highest in the OECD, after Korea: more than 25% of people aged 65 and older have an income below the relative poverty line. Older women are especially vulnerable: more than one-third of females over 75 live in poverty and the notional defined contribution (NDC) scheme does not offer survivor benefits for spouses.
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