Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Health, Latvia, Pensioners, Society

"The number of pensioners keeps growing, and if we compare the number of senior citizens with the number of people who work and make a living for themselves, their children, and the elderly, it is clear that the proportion keeps decreasing," Berzins explains.

The retirement system should be reorganized, as the current one will collapse at some point. People will have to work longer before they retire. The retirement system in many countries resembles a financial pyramid – a proportion of residents is making deposits, while other generations are spending them. However, if the number of deposits becomes smaller, and the needs remain high, there will be a shortage of money, the expert explains.

This is why some countries have changed the retirement age, while others are still discussing it. The reason is because these systems were designed for completely different proportions of generations, when the number of senior citizens was lower.

Berzins believes that the healthcare system should be reorganized as well, as the current system was not planned for such a large proportion of elderly people.

Life expectancy in Latvia, as compared with other European Union (EU) countries, has increased slightly, demographer Atis Berzins says.

Berzins explains that, according to this year's European demographic analysis, life expectancy in all EU member states has increased since 1960. However, in Latvia, this growth has been very slight.

Life expectancy for Latvian men has increased by 3.7 years. Thus, Latvia is behind the average EU indicator – 9.2 years. Bulgaria and Lithuania registered even lower figures – 3.4 and 3.5 years, respectively.

Latvia and Finland registered very distinct changes. Both had similar life expectancies in 1960 – 65.2 and 65.5 years respectively. During the past 50 years, life expectancy for men in Finland has grown by 12.2 years, while in Latvia – by less than four, the expert says.

The situation among women is similar – in 1960, life expectancy for women in both countries was 72.4 and 72.5 years respectively. By now, these indicators have increased by 11.2 and 6.5 years respectively. Thus, Finnish women are among the leaders of longevity in the EU.

Berzins said that by 2060, life expectancy for Latvian men will increase by about 2.4 years every ten years, but for women – by 1.6 years.