Why is pension reform necessary? Here is an explanation from the ruling coalition

The government approved the pension reform, which is supposed to ensure “today’s 30s and 40s also decent pensions for their work”.

These are the opening words of Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), who also immediately added that if his government did not accept the reform, the system would not be sustainable.

“The deficit of the pension budget is constantly growing and in 2050 it would reach 350 billion crowns if we did nothing, which is five percent of the gross domestic product,” Fiala tried to illustrate the future problem with increasing expenses. With the pension reform, the deficit will be 75 billion crowns.

“Equally important are the numbers that show us how many working people there are per pensioner. In 2000 there were five people, in 2020 three and a half and in 2050 there will be two people. Here, too, it is clear that something needs to be done,” said the Prime Minister.

According to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, pension reform has been discussed for more than a quarter of a century. “But actually, as far as the interim pillar is concerned, no government has ever come to the point where it has a comprehensive proposal and approves it together with all votes and sends it to Parliament,” said Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL).

He explained that the Czech Republic would otherwise have to deal with significant deficits in the pension system in such a way that pensions would drop significantly or taxes and levies would have to increase significantly. “Basically, nothing much in between can be rationally implemented,” said Jurečka.

Go through the complete overview of the changes that come with the pension reform:

The president of TOP 09, Markéta Adamová Pekarová, argued that if the reform was not carried out, politicians would have to solve the question of how to preserve a dignified life for pensioners in the future. At the same time, they would not have too many tools for this. “They would have to take it somewhere else. Why not? For quality healthcare or for education? Even such solutions would affect absolutely everyone,” the TOP 09 president points out.

Pekarová tried to apply the pension reform to a specific person. “In retirement, he needs not only the pension itself, but also social services or health care, and all of this is guaranteed in our state in high quality,” said the TOP 09 chairperson, adding that everything is being dealt with simultaneously, it’s not just about decent pensions.

Ivan Bartoš, the chairman of the Pirate Party, reminded that pensions are the largest expenditure of the state budget. “The selection on social security is in the red,” explained Bartoš, and he also appreciated the information that the citizen will know both the retirement age and the approximate pension.

Vít Rakušan (STAN) spoke about responsible politics. “It is often said that our government is holding together, that we are standing against someone. That’s not the case, our government is held together by responsibility,” said the President of the Starosts.

The ANO opposition movement, on the other hand, sharply opposed the reform. He criticizes, for example, insufficient support for higher birth rates and personal savings.