SPAIN – The Spanish state pension fund will have reserves until 2015 and will remain solvent, provided the government adopts measures to deal with the country’s ageing population, according to a study of the work place undertaken by the department of social security and reported by El País.

The reserve reached Pta500bn (€3bn) in 2000, allowing a substantial endowment into the state pension fund. Furthermore, according to secretary of state for social security, Gerardo Camps, the estimated endowment of Pta190bn will be greatly exceeded with Pta250bn going into the fund at the end of this year.

According to Camps, Spain will not affected by the problems of an ageing population until 2030, some ten years behind its European neighbours, but measures need to be taken now to deal with them.

Camps recommends that women be brought into the workforce as and whenever possible so the labour market can function to its fullest. The working life should be extended and people encouraged to take later retirement. Then, immigrants should be welcomed into the workforce and the population at large to keep the population constant in light of fewer children and more pensioners. This could mean as many as six million immigrant workers entering the Spanish market.