ACTIVE AGEING AND REFORMING PENSION SYSTEM. MAIN CHALLENGES

Active ageing and economic crisis create a great pressure on pension systems, from the financial sustainability and performance of the old architectures of the 3 tired system point of view. Reforms of public pension systems during the last years highlight that demographic ageing is a major influence factor on financial sustainability of the national insurance and social assistance systems, with long-term effects. Associated with “classic” demographic ageing (low birth-rate, increase of the average life expectancy) for some new member states, such Romania, labour mobility on medium- and long-term and the change of its largest part into emigration, heightens labour force ageing and diminishes participation to insurance systems (due to the low portability of pensions). To these are added also the specific effects generated by the crisis that have put pressure on decreasing social expenditures, in reverse trend against the demand generated by demographic ageing. Romania, and also several EU member countries are involved in large-scale actions of reforming pension systems both as answer to the increase in the numbers of elderly population, and implicitly of associated social expenditures, but also for stimulating the extension of active life. The increase in the standard retirement age and its correlation to life expectancy constitute priorities of changing the methodology in pension computation. The reformed policies in the field of pensions pursue as well restricting accessibility and diminishing early-age retirement schemes in parallel with stimulating the employability of individuals aged 50 and over. In this paper we present the main policy action in order to stimulate and develop a new model of old age insurance and a new pattern of incomes after retirement, and also to investigate the support measures among EU member state for active ageing and increase incomes for elder persons.