Oscar Espinosa Chepe
HAVANA, June - The dismal situation of Cuban pensioners is only one among a
long list of serious problems faced by Cuban society.
The June 1st issue of the national Bohemia magazine says that the average
pension in Cuba is 104 pesos a month, or the equivalent of 4.73 U. S. dollars.
That's not enough to buy three liters of cooking oil (less than one gallon),
sold in government stores at 40 pesos a liter.
The search for solutions to this problem is practically impossible under the
present circumstances of chronic economic crisis and unfavorable demographic
tendencies.
Expenditures for social security show a noticeable increase in relation to
the total expenditures in the budget, according to official figures released. In
1989, social security was 7.8% of the total, while at the end of the 90's it was
13.0%, without any significant increase in individual retirement pensions.
At the same time, contributions to social security are decreasing. In 1989,
the social security deficit between income and expenditures was 417.5 million
pesos; at the end of the 90's it approached 700 million pesos.
The deficit is made up from other sources in the budget, limiting financial
resources for development, eventually affecting growth, employment, salaries and
social security contributions themselves.
The growing difficulties of the social security system have a double cause:
the economic crisis and the accelerated aging of the Cuban population. In 1980,
citizens 60 or older were 10.6% of the population; at present they account for
14.0%. By 2015, they may constitute 18.0%, according to serious demographic
studies. The number of pensioners, 12.5% today, could be as high as 20% by 2020.
This demographic phenomenon, aided by low birth rates starting in the 70's,
means that ever higher demands on resources to care for the aging population
will be faced with diminishing resources provided by a shrinking economically
active population.
The only viable solution to this complex problem is economic growth, and in
particular, productivity, an impossible task under the present economic model
which is itself the main obstacle to the nation's progress. Some measures, such
as raising the age of retirement would only be temporary fixes of the worsening
crisis.
It could be said that the dramatic living conditions of most pensioners have
no prospects of improving. On the contrary, everything points to an even more
dismal future for generations that contributed and labored all their lives.
Versión
original en español
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