Bulgaria's Unsustainable Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce


 
Decades of low fertility are causing Bulgaria’s working-age population to fall. Simultaneously, retirees are living longer and forming an ever-larger part of the population. These factors are causing an extraordinary decline in the number of working-age people available to support the expanding number of retirees.

Number of Working-Age People to each Dependent (65+) in Bulgaria
The working-age population represents those aged 15 to 64. Period: 1950-2050.
Bulgaria



Note: Y axis ratios are expressed as “X : 1,” meaning X working people to every 1 elderly dependent.

In 1950, each Bulgarian retiree was supported by over 10 people of working age. By 2050, this is projected to have fallen to less than 2. Nearly three-quarters of Bulgaria’s total spending on social protection goes towards the category of ‘old age’, so this fast-expanding, mostly-retired cohort costs the state much more than the equivalent number of workers. Unfunded pension entitlements also stood at 197% of Bulgaria’s GDP in the most recent Eurostat survey. Adding to this already nightmarish equation is the fact that Bulgaria’s labour force participation rate is 57%. Therefore, these figures overstate the number of workers available to support retirees today. Consequently, an unprecedented and unsustainable tax burden is emerging in Bulgaria.

More for subscribers:  
See more...The Alarming Cost of Aging Demographics
See more...See more data for Bulgaria...
See more...See more Fertility Rate data...
See more...See more 'Number of Workers to Each Elderly Dependent' data...



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