Demonstrations in France, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain and Italy.
Photographers: Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images, Carolina Cabral/Bloomberg, Xavier Garcia/Bloomberg, Gustavo Valiente/Europa Press/Getty Images, Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images, Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images
How a Good Retirement Risks Becoming Just for the Privileged
Popular discontent with the idea of having to work for longer is building as state pensions feel the strain.
It’s the slowest moving financial crisis of our time. Public finances are buckling as retirement promises made to previous generations collide with the realities of an aging population.
State pension costs in developed economies, often already the biggest single area of government expenditure, are projected to soar and leave scant room for other spending priorities. Back in 1980, pensions consumed about 5.5% of GDP, and by 2040 that could top 10%, according to the best available data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.