Pensions in the European Union: Adapting to Economic and Social Changes

Throughout the European Union, pension schemes are undergoing a process of adaptation to a completely different context. Some of the main stumbling blocks to this process are the great number of issues involved and the diversity of questions that these raise: demographic changes, the labour market, economic growth, social justice, the ways of regulating the established provisions and decision-making in their regard. These dimensions do not offer ready-made answers, from the standpoint of pension financing. Apart from the complexity of the situation, however, a fundamental component of European societies is definitely at stake here: the ability to guarantee a decent level of security to all citizens when they reach retirement age.