Retirement

My name‿ is‿ Arthur. I am sixty-two,│ an(d) the arithmetic‿ of my generation's retirement‿ is both straightforward‿ an(d) disagreeable:│ life‿ expectancy has risen,│ the dependency ratio has fallen,│ an(d) the pension promised‿ in 1980 cannot be financed‿ at the level then‿ assumed.

The state pension‿ in my country replaces roughly sixty^six-dy percent‿ of‿ an‿ average salary,│ which‿ is‿ adequate‿ only for those│ who own their homes. Many of my contemporaries saved nothing,│ not through recklessness│ but because the promise‿ appeared‿ entirely reliable;│ the entitlements they were granted have proved to be deferred‿ in‿ a manner nobody explained‿ at the time. My wife retired las(t) year‿ and‿ is busier than she has‿ ever been. I inten(d) to continue working,│ partly because the pension‿ improves should‿ I wait‿ an(d) partly│ because‿ I wish to retain my health cover.

The question nobody wishes to confront‿ is fiscal. My daughter^dau-der,│ who is thirty-five,│ contributes to a private plan│ because she expects little^li-dle from the state,│ and‿ I cannot faul(t) her reasoning. Any hones(t) reform mus(t) render the entitlemen(t) sustainable without rendering‿ it‿ inadequate,│ an(d) those two objectives‿ are‿ in direc(t) tension. Provision for‿ old‿ age will‿ increasingly be a compound‿ of state,│ employer‿ and‿ individual saving,│ an(d) the incentive structure‿ ought to^oughta make that plain rather than‿ obscure‿ it further. Candour,│ unfortunately,│ is not what wins‿ elections.