Ecos dos EUA

"As numerous companies across the country withdraw retiree medical and dental benefits while others switch to less generous retirement plans, many aging workers who had expected to ease comfortably out of the labor force in their 50's and early 60's are discovering that they do not have the financial resources to support themselves in retirement. As a result, a lot more of them are returning to work.
Since the mid-1990's, older people have become the fastest-growing portion of the work force. The Labor Department projects that workers over 55 will make up 19.1 percent of the labor force by 2012, up from 14.3 percent in 2002.
Until recently, most economists said that older people were being lured back into the labor force largely because of opportunities growing out of the vibrant economy of the 1990's. But these days, they say, many such Americans are being drawn to work out of necessity rather than choice.
As the nation gears up for a fundamental debate over the future of Social Security, these circumstances hint at potential changes in the federal program that supports more than 40 million elderly Americans

Just as companies are seeking ways to reduce their roles in financing former employees in retirement, many economists say that the Social Security program should also scale back in response to the aging of the population.
Some have pointed out that continuing to raise the official retirement age in step with increases in Americans' average longevity could probably guarantee Social Security's solvency forever".

[...]

[in New York Times]

Nos EUA, o problema da sustentação económica e financeira das reformas está a suscitar um profundo debate. O mesmo que irá surgir necessariamente em Portugal, quando opções tiverem de ser feitas entre as contas da Segurança Social e as opções de recurso a planos de poupança.

j.marioteixeira@sapo.pt