Ageing in Europe: turning weakness into strength

Italy is the oldest country in Europe: two Italians out of ten are over 65; life expectancy is high and the birth rate is low; the pension system is particularly burdensome as many Italian workers retire earlier than their OECD counterparts – though productivity remains comparable since the older the worker, generally, the higher the salary. The country’s public debt is increasing while productivity is going down: Italy needs to modify its Welfare State. The contractual model demands tweaking so as to directly link salaries with productivity and to keep older workers on the job.