Is Belgium prepared for the cost of ageing?

Ageing inevitably increases the pressure on the resources of the social security system and calls for adequate policy reforms. While Belgium is no doubt in a better position do deal with aging that it was a decade ago, it is far from prepared to meet the challenges of the projected rise in the budgetary costs of aging. This paper and presentation from IMF economist Luc Everaert takes a critical look at the existing strategy to deal with the projected budgetary costs of aging. It estimates the costs of delaying reform, highlights the magnitude of the implementation gaps so far, and describes the tensions and synergies between the different components of the strategy required to deal with aging. Against this background, and based on cross-country experience, it also provides some suggestions about the course ahead.