Temporal Aspects of the Czech Retirement Age

Abstract

The continued ageing of Czech society has provoked discussion over what measures should be taken to avert a prospective old age crisis. This paper deals with one aspect of pension reform, i.e., the retirement age. The first part outlines some possible unintended consequences of the currently low age of retirement, which - if it were to remain the same - might discriminate against elderly Czechs in a future unified Europe. The second part analyses in detail the attitudes of Czechs aged 50 and over towards various aspects of retirement. Their views, recorded by means of a representative survey, show that the age at which older Czechs consider a person is old is 66.5 years. The author concludes that Czech society should increase the retirement age to 65.