Retirement at 67 – possible, but only when unemployment falls below 10 percent

Okay, human life expectancy is getting longer, as is working life. The relevant minister claims that ‘already’ 11 EU countries have such a provision. However, these are mostly wealthy countries without major unemployment issues, like Germany and the Netherlands, or ‘repeat offenders’ like Greece and Italy, which extend life expectancy, just like us, according to the alleged dictate of the EU.

– Two years ago, I had seven years until retirement, currently I have ten years, and soon I will have twelve.

This is the lament of a colleague who, according to the first reform announcements, needs to ‘earn’ another two years of service for a full pension by 2026. I will be gone by then, but she and many others are not so lucky. Okay, human life expectancy is getting longer, as is working life. The relevant minister claims that ‘already’ 11 EU countries have such a provision. However, these are mostly wealthy countries without major unemployment issues, like Germany and the Netherlands, or ‘repeat offenders’ like Greece and Italy, which extend life expectancy, just like us, according to the alleged dictate of the EU.

The situation is not simple. On one side is the overstretched pension system, on the other are the cries of construction workers and kindergarten teachers, and on the third is an army of unemployed. By delaying retirement, we will slightly relieve pensions, but further burden social services. It is not hard to imagine that the new ‘lost generations of grandchildren’ will struggle to find jobs instead of their grandparents, which will increase the crime rate. The elderly will work, while the young will become even more unemployed and in even greater numbers will turn to the other side – of the law or the border.

That is why I see ‘project 67’ as a bone thrown to the public to gnaw on so that it does not become apparent that there is no meaningful development strategy that would allow for the employment of at least 200,000 unemployed in the foreseeable future. There is also no state flexibility in education, nor in importing those workers who are not available in Croatia.

Although a longer working life is inevitable, and one day we will have to work until the age of 67, I would introduce a protective clause into such a regulation: it cannot come into effect until the unemployment rate falls below ten percent. In the meantime, the legislator could introduce a provision for possible – but not mandatory – extension of working life for employees in deficit occupations.