BRUSSELS – The steady ageing of the Belgian population is threatening to provoke a pensions crisis in 25 years, it was reported on Monday.

Currently 17 percent of Belgians are older than 65, but this is set to rise to 25 percent in 25 years time, De Tijd newspaper reported.

The number of people aged 100 or more will rise from the present 967 to over 8,000 in 2050.

The ageing of the population has sparked fears of an increased burden on pensions and healthcare.

The federal government is meeting with the affected social security bodies to map out a plan to tackle the problem.

They will be looking at ways to encourage more people over 50 to keep working and to guarantee more money for social security coffers.

[Copyright Expatica 2005]

Subject: Belgian news