“The perception that there are a large number of impoverished retirees is a myth that is not supported by statistics,” he declared.
He added that pension poverty is declining rapidly due to both the high pensions of the age groups retiring in the coming years and the exit of the elderly living in guarantee pensions from the group of pensioners.
“Low-income people are so far more common among retirees over the age of 75 than the rest of the population because a smaller number of them were members of an employment pension scheme like the current one.”
Kurronen on Tuesday said YLE that he wrote a blog post not to provoke, but to dispel the myth. “This was a blog post in the spirit of destroying myths. We have talked about the fact that pension poverty is a massive phenomenon, but it is, in fact, a phenomenon that is disappearing quickly. “
He reiterated that tomorrow’s retirees have had most of their occupational pensions. “Therefore, the premise is that they are doing well in retirement. The situation was different and poverty was more real 20 years ago,” he commented on the broadcaster.
He added that his goal is also to send a message to policy makers and ignite a more balanced debate on pensioners: retirees should not be grouped together in one low-income group.
“People receiving an employment pension are typically not in the worst position in society. This needs to be kept in mind when considering ways to make the pension system more sustainable and fair for young people as well, “he told YLE.” I want to make people aware that giving this and more to retirees is not a particularly good starting point. “
Thus, discounts and bonuses for retirees may not be as necessary as is often thought. “Even low-income retirees have better basic security than other groups. And that is naturally justified, ”Kurronen said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page