The number of pensioners in Romania was down by 1.8 percent end of 2012 year on year, to some 5.4 million, according to data from Romania's Statistics Institute INS. The average monthly pension was of RON 773 in 2012 (or the equivalent of EUR 170), and was 2.7 percent higher than in 2011, and 8 percent higher than in 2010.

The highest average pension was recorded in Bucharest, some RON 982 – or EUR 218, while the lowest was in Giurgiu county, some RON 642 – or some EUR 140.

A new study by local bank BCR warns of an impending aging population related difficulties. Unless birth rates increase significantly, by 2030, 1 in 5 Romanians will be aged 65 plus, compared to 1 in 7 at present. By 2060, the rate will have reached 1 in 3 Romanians aged over 65, according to BCR.

“An ever decreasing and aging population will cause three major economic impacts in Romania – economic downturn, continued dependence on foreign capital and increased pressure on the state budget over the long term,” said BCR chief analyst Eugen Sinca.

The picture in rural Romania is even more dramatic. A third of those currently working in agriculture are over 55, according to BCR. The study also warns of a spike in retirements around the year 2035, due to unusually high birth rates in Romania between 1967 and 1970. The BCR analyst said that the country must prepare for the increase in retirement rate, which “requires rapid reform of the health system by involving private sector health providers and maintaining key reforms already implemented in the pension system.”

editor@romania-insider.com