27/04/2012 Session
Strasbourg, 27.04.2012 – In order to safeguard decent pensions for all, and to address the dual challenge of ageing of the population and the current economic crisis, the PACE calls on Council of Europe member states to “design national pension systems based on several pillars and a ‘mix’ of sources of pension income”, i.e. comprising both funded and pay-as-you-go components. Pay-as-you-go systems, based on intergenerational solidarity, should form the bedrock of pension schemes.
In a resolution unanimously adopted today, based on the report by Denis Jacquat (France, EPP/CD), the Assembly also called on member states to “find appropriate solutions for people with periods in which they have made no pension contributions” (such as those with family responsibilities) and for those who are less able to prepare for their retirement, such as people with disabilities or migrants.
In addition, the Parliamentary Assembly called on the Committee of Ministers to urge those member states which have not already done so to ratify the revised European Social Charter, the only binding Council of Europe instrument referring to the right of the elderly to “adequate resources enabling them to lead a decent life”.