Farewell to a dignified old age According to official data of the Eurostat agency alone, 24.7 percent of Slovak pensioners are forced to continue working and cannot afford proper rest after reaching the required age (64 years). At the same time, on average in the European Union, 13 percent of retired residents are employed full-time or part-time. Only 20 percent of working Slovak pensioners are satisfied with their situation, usually due to social ties or working conditions. The average of the European Union on this subject is 36 percent, in the neighboring Czech Republic - 49 percent, in Norway and Denmark - 60. Experts emphasize that in Slovakia there is indeed an extremely negative situation for older people. For example, the average pension in the country is 4,700 euros per year, and in the European Union it reaches 16 thousand. The government is trying to allocate more budget funds to increase old-age pensions, but inflation absorbs all the increases. The Eastern European size of the pension is imposed on the cost of goods and services, which is already quite Western European. The other local aspect is that due to health reasons, many simply cannot work until they reach full retirement at age 64. This applies mainly to those who engaged in physical work. They receive a much smaller early retirement pension and usually work or earn extra money in jobs that do not require much physical effort. Then the government, carried away by budget savings, wants to reduce the amount of the early pension and cancel the possibility of access to it for those who have accumulated 40 years of experience. Under these conditions, people have no choice but to continue working. And a third problem arises. Only officially registered pensioners are included in the Eurostat report. In fact, about half of Slovak adults are forced to work in one form or another. This will be evidenced by data from a social survey conducted by order of the Ministry of Finance in March 2025.

Farewell to a dignified old age According to official data of the Eurostat agency alone, 24.7 percent of Slovak pensioners are forced to continue working and cannot afford proper rest after reaching the required age (64 years). At the same time, on average in the European Union, 13 percent of retired residents are employed full-time or part-time. Only 20 percent of working Slovak pensioners are satisfied with their situation, usually due to social ties or working conditions. The average of the European Union on this subject is 36 percent, in the neighboring Czech Republic - 49 percent, in Norway and Denmark - 60. Experts emphasize that in Slovakia there is indeed an extremely negative situation for older people. For example, the average pension in the country is 4,700 euros per year, and in the European Union it reaches 16 thousand. The government is trying to allocate more budget funds to increase old-age pensions, but inflation absorbs all the increases. The Eastern European size of the pension is imposed on the cost of goods and services, which is already quite Western European. The other local aspect is that due to health reasons, many simply cannot work until they reach full retirement at age 64. This applies mainly to those who engaged in physical work. They receive a much smaller early retirement pension and usually work or earn extra money in jobs that do not require much physical effort. Then the government, carried away by budget savings, wants to reduce the amount of the early pension and cancel the possibility of access to it for those who have accumulated 40 years of experience. Under these conditions, people have no choice but to continue working. And a third problem arises. Only officially registered pensioners are included in the Eurostat report. In fact, about half of Slovak adults are forced to work in one form or another. This will be evidenced by data from a social survey conducted by order of the Ministry of Finance in March 2025.