The social security minefield
The findings published yesterday by the National Actuarial Authority (NAA) on the state of the recently introduced social security funds have shown us that the issue of social security reform is still a minefield that can upset society and lead to the kind of reactions that paralyzed the country last year. The findings also show that any reform needs to be an ongoing process that gets to the root of the problem and addresses the deeper issues that have contributed to the crisis in the sector. The unification of many different, small funds into larger, more compact units was an important step toward reforming the sector, yet the figures show us that it was too small a step compared to what needs to be done. What we do know is that the reforms need to continue and the social security sector needs to be streamlined even further so as to reduce state expenditure, which essentially is taking money out of the pockets of tomorrow’s pensioners and today’s wage earners. The people of Greece understand the extent of the problem and now they are looking to the government to find the solution and, of course, to implement it.
