Last summer, the Pension Committee presented its proposal for how the future pension should be. Labor Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) has now studied the proposal. Like the committee, she believes that the current retirement age of 67 should be adjusted upwards gradually. It was E24 that discussed the matter first. The retirement age for those born in the 90s can then be 70 and a half years. The lower age limit for drawing a pension rises from 62 to 65.5 years. – In the future, we will have to work longer, simply because we are living longer, says Brenna to news. – After all, our pension system must work over several generations, for our children and grandchildren. Therefore, we must ensure that they have security. No solution for physically demanding occupations However, the Pension Committee does not have a solution for what to do with people who work in physically demanding occupations. Neither has Brenna for now. It has caused reactions. SV leader Kirsti Bergstø. Photo: Amanda Iversen Orlich / news Increased life expectancy does not necessarily mean that everyone can stay in work longer. – I completely agree with that. The employee organizations have been very concerned about the so-called strugglers, says Brenna. – I share that commitment. The minister says she hopes for agreement in the Storting on the changes when they get that far. These could be some of the changes in the pension. If it is what the Pension Committee proposes and the government wants, the current age limit will be replaced with a variable age limit. The limit must increase as life expectancy increases. The new system applies from the 1963 cohort onwards. In the current system, the retirement age is 67, but with the option of drawing a pension as early as 62. The age limits gradually increase by approximately one year per tenth year. Initially, this will increase by two months per year. Pension age for those born in the 90s is 70 and a half years. The lower age limit for drawing a pension for this group rises from 62 to 65.5 years. – Disabled before they reach retirement age Proposed changes to the pension face strong opposition from Rødt. Workers in heavier occupations are not taken into account in this proposal, the party believes. Mímir Kristjánsson, parliamentary representative from Rødt. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB – It is antisocial and unfair to raise the retirement age. I had hoped that a minister from the Labor Party would have understood that workers in heavy occupations cannot stay in work longer simply because doctors and lawyers live longer on average. They will never get Rødt to agree to this, says Mímir Kristjánsson, Storting representative from Rødt. – The Labor Party must choose whether they want to negotiate with the right or the left. Rødt will never accept that the age limits should be increased automatically as Brenna and the pension committee are in favor of, he says. SV leader Kirsti Bergstø believes, like Rødt, that a change in the retirement age cannot be based on people who want and can work longer. – If it is at all to be realistic that more people will work longer, we must first have a working life where people can stay at work with their health intact. – The government must realize that many people in heavy occupations, such as cleaning and shops, leave working life as disabled long before they reach retirement age, says SV leader Kirsti Bergstø. LO also requires a special scheme for those struggling in physically demanding occupations. If that is not in place, they will not support the proposal, says deputy chairman Steinar Krogstad of the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Association to NTB. Deputy leader of the Conservative Party, Henrik Asheim. Photo: Christian Breidlid Høyre: – Naturally, raising the age limits In the Høyre and NHO, on the other hand, Brenna’s move is welcomed. Deputy head Henrik Asheim believes it is natural that the age limits are now being increased. – It is a completely natural consequence of us living longer and staying healthy longer. Increasing the age limits in reality means that the social rights such as the right to sick pay are also extended in line with people staying in work longer before they retire. – If Brenna is serious about more people staying at work longer, she should also increase the upper age limit in the state back to 72, as the Solberg government introduced, he points out. Nina Melsom, area director for working life and tariff in NHO also emphasizes that the companies themselves have a responsibility. – Of course, the companies, the authorities and the employees themselves have a responsibility to ensure that it is possible to work until retirement age. It is, among other things, about a good working environment, HSE and that we emphasize competence development throughout life, she says.
ttn-69
Brenna’s pension plans demand a solution for the “struggling” – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
