Spanish Government on delaying retirement to 67

Following the confirmation from the Prime Minister on Friday that the Spanish Government wants to raise the retirement age to 67, the OECD has said today that Spain should do so.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said he wanted to see a flexible system and one brought in with cross party support, but unions were not impressed, with CCOO and UGT calling demonstrations across the country on Saturday against retirement at 67.

The OECD thinks retirement age should be linked to life expectancy in the long term.

‘Spain faces a dramatic increase in public spending, because of the ageing population between 2030 and 2060, in a context of a pensions system that is more generous than in other countries, in relation to the contributions from the citizens’.

It notes also that fiscal pressure in Spain is ‘relatively low’ with respect to other European economies.

The Government has indicated that it is prepared to take supplementary measures if necessary.