The retirement system reform: a challenge for France with Sweden as a model?

Introduction

A debate on the burning question of the retirement scheme is in process (happening?) virtually all over the world, especially in countries members of the OECD. Developed countries as a majority are under the pressure of a necessary reform as the systems enforced decades ago are encountering financial limits. Deficits are accruing and will go on in the future. The governments are wondering how to reduce the economic and demographic pressure they are undertaking, all the while avoiding to create supplementary burden, expenses, costs, for the future workers.
In France notably, the retirement scheme reform has been a leading matter for several years but started to become of major concern few months ago. The media cannot spend a day without getting onto the subject. This issue is of major concern as it represents in France 279 billion euro of pension paid every year to 16 million retirees, representing 14% of GDP and a deficit of 32 billion euro.
Population aging is one of the greatest social and economic challenges of the 21st century. European population is aging faster than other parts of the world: it has the highest proportion of persons aged 65 or over (about 16%) among the world’s regions. This trend will quicken in the years to come: whereas being a hundred years old was exceptional few decades ago, France will count 18 000 ones in 2015 and over 60 000 in 2050. In Europe, according to a UN report, the old-age dependency ratio is projected to grow from about 22% in 2000 to 51% in 2050. This increase of the dependency ratio is becoming a heavy financial burden on society relying on a pay-as-you-go financed pension system, i.e. without accumulation. The issue get worse as it is stated that Europeans workers proved to be retiring much earlier than inhabitants of other developed countries.
This ageing population coinciding with the trend of early retirement and the