Greece, an ageing population and planning for retirement

What the OECD report says

The OECD’s Pensions at a Glance 2025, published in November 2025, shows that populations across OECD countries will age quickly over the next 25 years. On average, the number of people aged 65 and over for every 100 people aged 20 to 64 is expected to rise from 33 in 2025 to 52 in 2050.

In countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Spain, the increase is expected to be particularly strong, at more than 25 points by 2050. For Greece, the OECD also notes that the working-age population is expected to shrink by more than 30% over the next 40 years.

What this means in plain terms

Public pension systems rely heavily on contributions from people working today. When fewer workers support more pensioners, the system comes under strain. Governments usually respond with changes: a higher pension age, stricter rules, or pensions that rise more slowly than the cost of living.

The message for each of us is simple: the state pension matters, but it needs a parallel plan to top up income and protect your standard of living.

For anyone who is 30 or 40 today, these changes will play out during their own working life. You do not need to guess which reforms will come. It is enough not to rest your whole retirement income on a single source. A state pension, a provident fund or workplace scheme where you have one, and personal savings together give a steadier base than any one of them alone.

It matters in Cyprus too

This article focuses on Greece, but population ageing affects all of Europe. Many families have ties to both countries: someone has worked in one of them, parents live there, or they are deciding where to retire.

If you have worked in both countries, it is worth gathering your insurance records from each system. EU rules allow periods of insurance in different member states to be taken into account, but the process takes time and paperwork.

Why it matters to you

If you start early, a retirement goal becomes more manageable. If you leave it until later, the monthly effort usually grows, because the same sum has to be built in fewer years, with less time to earn a return.

The challenge is not only how much you will receive. It is also for how long. As life expectancy rises, retirement income has to cover more years.

What you can do now

• Ask the social insurance body in each country where you have worked for your record of contributions and an estimate of your pension.
• Decide how much monthly income you would like in retirement, at today’s prices.
• Work out the gap between what you need and what you expect from the state pension.
• Turn that gap into a target sum and a monthly amount with the Retirement savings goal tool.
• Review the plan whenever your job, income or country of residence changes.

For the main options, see our retirement guide.