Under 40s Can Forget About State Pension, Says Economist
Prominent economist Andrus Arrak has once again issued a gloomy prognosis for the state pension system, saying that those under 40 have no hope of ever receiving a payout.
According to Arrak, the system is unsustainable because there are currently around 300,000 pension recipients in the country and only 630,000 people paying in. The ratio, he said, is only getting worse.
"There is still some hope for private pension funds, although right now they're not even able to keep up with inflation," Arrak told Delfi.
Arrak said that given the current situation, the only choice would be to raise the retirement age. But that would mean that the average Estonian, especially men, would never receive a pension because the life expectancy and the retirement age would be about the same, he said.
Steve Roman