I began my speech by referring to the remarkable achievement of the second half of the last century whereby public pensions have greatly improved the quality of life of our older citizens. A return to a situation – or, in the case of Greece, the persistence of a situation – in which older people are poor or dependent on others is unacceptable.
As people come to live longer they should expect that the quality of their lives during retirement years will be gratifying. Unless pension reform is implemented – and soon – population ageing will have severe economic consequences, including fiscal consequences. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel.