According to her, the European Union does not require increasing or decreasing the retirement age – this decision is left to each state.
“As you know, the retirement age differs in the countries of the European Union. Therefore, it is the state and the government that determine what it should be. At the moment, we are not considering either raising or lowering this age, although we recognize that the population across Europe, including Moldova, is aging – people are living longer. In particular, in Moldova life expectancy has increased by 2 years over the last 10 years,” Plougarou said.
Nevertheless, the ministry considers it necessary to take measures in the field of the pension system:
“It is certainly necessary to intervene in social policy and the pension system to ensure their sustainability. At the moment, the retirement age remains at the established level.”
It should be noted that starting from July 1, 2017, the retirement age in Moldova has been gradually raised in accordance with the established schedule. For men, the retirement age is 63 years and remains unchanged until 2028. For women, the retirement age will increase gradually: from 62 years in 2026 to 62 years and 6 months in 2027 and 63 years in 2028.
As Logos Press previously wrote, the aging population is causing experts to worry about the future economic structure of the state.
Alexander Makhukhin, an independent expert, points out that in 2025, the labor force was about 800 thousand people, and the labor force participation rate in relation to the total population was about 41%. According to him, this is one of the lowest rates in Europe.
“We are losing not only the population as such, but also the economic base on which the future of our country should be based,” Makukhin said.
