A nice retirement?

Abstract

As a result of the ageing population, the number of elderly people in our society is rising sharply. Most of them are no longer active on the labour market and therefore need to live on other sources of income. We are mainly referring to pensions here, as well as investment income. It is generally accepted that Belgian pensions for private sector employees are on the low side. Moreover, it is often assumed that pensions can only remain affordable if people work for a longer period on average. At the same time, the health status of the elderly tends to deteriorate, leading to higher care costs. Concerns about pensions and rising care costs are therefore causing concern about the future quality of life of the growing group of elderly people in our society.