Life expectancy is increasing, society is aging, and the issue of raising the retirement age is becoming increasingly inevitable — not only in Latvia but throughout the Western world. Professor Henrijs Kalkis emphasizes: aging today is not the end of active life, but a new chapter.
In the TV24 program "Preses klubs," Henrijs Kalkis, a professor at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Latvia, noted that the aging of society and increasing life expectancy significantly change the perception of the active life period and how long a person can remain employable. "I want to emphasize that this is not just a Latvian problem. It is a problem for Europe, America, and many other countries. Life expectancy is increasing, and the quality of life is improving," explained Kalkis.
He stressed that today aging is no longer perceived as a passive stage of life, but rather as an opportunity to continue development and participate in public life even after reaching the traditional retirement age.
"If we look at the residents of other Western European countries, aging no longer means that we just live until retirement and that’s it — we receive benefits and live peacefully. Now people think long-term, trying to understand how to develop in order to maintain their employability for as long as possible and remain full members of society," noted the professor.
According to Kalkis, the economic situation and demographic trends lead to the conclusion that the retirement age will likely need to be raised: "I think this will be inevitable, considering all the economic factors — the retirement age will have to be increased. Objectively speaking, people are living longer, maintaining their employability, and many will indeed want to continue working."
