In a possible development that sounds too sensible to be true in a country where politicians, two years ahead of general elections, are already going out of their way (or minds?) to curry favor with voters, there are whispers of talks going on about the possibility of raising the country’s retirement age.
According to the opposition-friendly Magyar Nemzet – whose reports on things like this need to be taken with a whole shaker of salt – a forum called something like “The Pension and Senior Affairs Roundtable” is working on a proposal that will hike the official retirement age to 67 from 62. While this would not be as monumental of a shift as it might seem, given Hungarians’ penchant for taking out early retirement, it would still be a significant step towards stabilizing the country’s teetering pension system, and reminding everyone that having a job is a normal part of a person’s working-age years.
Either way, the government quickly moved to deny the report, with chief spokesman Dávid Daróczi saying the cabinet not only had no intention of raising the retirement age, but that there was no such proposal to do so.
While it is regrettable that the government has dismissed out of hand an idea which both insiders and outsiders have identified as just about the only option for Hungary to prevent a collapse of its pension system, we can certainly understand the Socialists’ stance from a political point of view. Even the opposition, which is currently trouncing the government in the polls, has gotten cold feet after spooking the seniors.
Meanwhile, somewhat oddly, Péter Pataky, chairman of the National Alliance of Hungarian Unions (MSZOSZ), was less emphatic than Daróczi, saying that raising the retirement age to 67 was a possibility, but only if it was done gradually, over the course of a decade or so.
He also said he figured the government may be running the issue up the flagpole to see how the public will respond, and will eventually settle for a 65-year ceiling.
As for us, we’d be happy to settle for 64, if it would mean everyone would quit their griping and get some work done.