In Colombia, a controversy has been sparked by an idea that the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, put forward during one of his speeches: the retirement age must be reduced, because "life is not only about working", he said. Moments later he further clarified his proposal with something that seemed more like a retraction and pointed out that reducing the pension age is only possible for developed countries where productivity has reached adequate levels.

We must agree that this is a bad idea even in developed countries.

The pension age debate is also back on the table due to China's decision to increase its retirement ages, in a move that has not been made since the 1950's.

 The Chinese authorities have raised the retirement age for men from 60 to 63 and for women from 55 to 58. The process will be gradual between now and 2040.

According to the China Global Television Network (CGTN), the country's official news network, the decision is explained by the population changes that this nation has undergone in recent years, said Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security.

Among the changes, the average life expectancy has increased to 78.6 years today; in 1949 it was 40 years. Likewise, there is a higher level of education, as the average number of years of education of new workers has increased from 8 years to 14 years today. This causes people to start working later because they dedicate several additional years to their professional training.

In general, countries are undergoing a radical change in their population pyramid, which is increasingly made up of more and more adults and senior citizens.

There are two explanations for this. First, people are living longer: today the average life expectancy in the world is 72 years, when in the 1960s it was barely 50 years. On the other hand, the fertility rate has been falling drastically. It went from 5.32 children per woman in the 1960s to 2.2 in 2021.

This poses challenges to pension systems that have traditionally been based on pay-as-you-go schemes, in which the younger generations finance the payment of the allowances of those who retire.

These systems have become completely problematic. Germany is an exemplary case, since it was there that the social security pension systems were born during the Bismarck era.

The European country has just approved a pension reform to guarantee, through a multi-billion dollar fund, sufficient resources to pay pensions in the coming decades. And many political parties are calling for a review of the retirement ages, which today stand at 67 for both men and women.

The pension age is a central issue in the current political debate. In the United States there are rules based on the principle of savings and individual responsibility. According to CNN, there are a wide variety of products available to achieve a financially stable retirement.

However, it is clear that something is happening with life expectancy and fertility rates that is changing significantly and this poses financial challenges for pension systems.

On the other hand, it is clear that most people consider that they have a lot to contribute beyond retirement and that there is productive life even beyond 80 years of age.

It is important to address these challenges, because with falling birth rates, the world's population will soon face a reality: we will live in an older society, and that will mean enormous challenges for the care of the elderly. Let the discussion begin.