The Social Ministry’s welfare strategy sets as its goal for 2023 that as many people as possible would work for as long as possible, and that both social inequality and poverty decrease.

Among other things, the current social welfare system needed to be reassessed, and people should rely on themselves more than on state support.

“We’ve already reached the ceiling of our support payments and schemes,” Kruuse said. “We have to find more solutions how people could get out of the support schemes and get help to round off their skills and get by better.”

Estonia couldn’t expect to gain any large number of new taxpayers, and with this fact it was in everybody’s own best interest to think about how to get by, and to think about their pensions. Part of this was to take care of one’s own health, to be able to work for as long as possible and enjoy it.

Kuuse also pointed out that social security, inclusion, and equal opportunity could only be attained with substantial reform in the social sector.

“In particular, we’ll have to look at the pension system, see what we can do for people in the context of an ever higher life expectancy, and how much people’s own contribution to pension funds and other kinds of insurance should be,” Kuuse said.

The government will discuss the ministry’s welfare strategy in the coming weeks, and after that present it to the Riigikogu.