Retirement at 65, not 63!

All the fuss surrounding the near-bankrupt situation of the Social Insurance Fund, the treasure chest that holds the pensions to be paid out to us all upon retirement, has been maneuvered in one direction alone, thus avoiding the core problem – some people can’t be bothered to work beyond their ‘prime’ and expect us younger taxpayers to contribute to their retirement.

The unions have been sending out signals suggesting that they would compromise and accept raising the retirement age to 63, but refuse to consider going beyond that. Little do they realise that on the one hand senior workers are being recruited by major corporations because of their 40-year experience or know-how in any given field, while others feel insulted when they are told they have to look for another job due to their advanced age.

Instead of thinking of selfish ways to drain the SIF as early as possible (“as long as there are funds available, let’s take our share and run”), the unions should put their thinking caps on and help the state overcome the potential shortages the Fund is potentially facing.

The solution lies in the state improving its management of the SIF. Not that this is a poorly-run fund; quite the contrary, it is one of the best things that has happened to Cypriot society since Independence. However, ways should be found to stop the bleeding, and in particular the civil servants abusing the system and claiming unemployment benefit at the same time as they receive their first pensions. At the end of the day, this is calculated at several million a year, creating a larger hole as years go by.

And why can’t we claim the same 6-month bonus? Simple, really, the civil servants are secured by a law that gives them this privilege.

This bizarre situation could only have happened in a country where the unions have yielded much more power than the successive governments that continue to give in to such pressure for fear of losing precious votes in any one of the many upcoming elections.

The only other way to reverse the trend is to raise contributions to which unions will agree to as long as the employers match these payments as well. Unfortunately, however, the state (the biggest employer) will agree to this increment and add it to its budget, while the private sector employers, who have to produce results before they can afford to pay any wages or increases, will be forced to make further cutbacks or even move their businesses away.

If the unions refuse to think ahead, surely somebody, somewhere in this government must have the tact to convince the labour groups to raise the retirement age to 65 as soon as possible.