S & P warns that will be more accurate measures in Portugal to face aging – Observer

By 2050 the Portuguese population is expected to fall 15%, and by that time, more than a third (35%) will be elderly. Given this forecast, the S & agency; P advises political power to take “additional measures” in order to be able to contain the costs of an aging population, a report published on Thursday and reported by Business Journal

“Despite the important steps taken to contain costs related to the impact of age on expenses without additional measures will not contain the future budgetary costs associated with an aging population,” defends the ratings analyst at S & amp; P, Marko Mrsnik, adding that “the budget estimates of medium-term are penalized by a number of obstacles to economic growth.”

the report “Global Aging 2016: aging of the Portuguese population adds budgetary challenges,” the S & P anticipates that without new measures, spending on old age in 2050 will reach 24% of GDP, increasing public debt to 161% of GDP. Currently, the pension costs are around 14% of GDP and the health account for 6% of GDP. The agency also notes that, without further measures, expenditure on health will grow at a faster rate than the pension expenditure.