Pension system expert Edgar Wolskis stated on the program "Open Conversation" on LR4 that he is extremely skeptical about raising the retirement age.
"I am a strong opponent," he stated. He added, "Let’s imagine whether you can produce that economic product with those technologies to compete with the youth, and they learn faster, let’s be honest. I am not sure that even I can be such a productive force at 65 to generate additional economic value."
He believes that to create a more successful pension system, savings need to be made, something like a fourth pension level, where you invest money in valuable items: coins, wines, antiques, and so on.
Wolskis also emphasizes that if people are given the opportunity to withdraw their money from the second pension level, the first effect that will hit us all will occur in about a year, and it will be massive inflation. The influx of money into the economy from pension savings will lead precisely to this.
Wolskis notes that the state cannot maintain the quality of life for retirees with only the first pension level. A replacement income rate of 60-80% of the income a person earned before retirement is needed. And the state will cover, at best, 40%. Another 20% will be delegated to banks. And at least 10-20% of the salary needs to be set aside as a safety cushion.
"But with the structure of our expenses today, we are not able to do this. And that’s why the state says - here’s 20% for the second level. Distribute it yourself, because the state is not able to accumulate. The state is just helping you make this decision. And don’t deceive yourself. This is just an economic process through which the employer helps us maintain the quality of our lives in old age," says Wolskis.
