Slovakia’s pension spending is rising sharply, with payouts far above the EU average when measured against household incomes, and the country faces one of the fastest‑ageing populations in Europe, according to UniCredit Bank analyst Ľubomír Koršňák.
Data from the country’s Sociálna poisťovňa (Social Insurance Agency) show that total payments for old‑age pensions — including early retirement, parental bonuses and a 13th pension — surged by 25 percent last year. The demographic trend is worsening the pressure: there are currently 2.7 working‑age Slovaks (20–64) for every pensioner, down by roughly one‑third over the past 25 years. Koršňák predicts that this ratio will fall to 1.8 within the next quarter‑century.
Ageing is expected to hit central and eastern Europe hardest, while Nordic countries have already passed their steepest rise in the over‑65 population. At present, the lowest ratios of workers to retirees in the EU are in Italy, Finland, Bulgaria and Portugal, at 2.4. Slovakia’s pace of ageing accelerated after 2010, and the country is on track to become one of the bloc’s fastest‑ageing societies.
Pensions are already a major fiscal burden. Public spending on old‑age benefits reached 8.9 percent of GDP in 2023 — around 1.8 percentage points higher than if Slovakia followed the typical EU curve for countries with similar demographics, Koršňák said. Pension outlays have grown rapidly in recent years, rising by 1.6 percentage points of GDP since 2019.
“Slovakia currently spends far more on pensions than its age structure would justify,” he said. “These ‘generous’ pensions will increasingly strain public finances as the population ages.”
The analyst warned that maintaining current benefits will divert resources from investment and education, further eroding the country’s long‑term growth potential.
The government has tried to ease the deficit in the pension system by adjusting the second, privately managed, pension pillar — including plans to redirect contributions to the state‑run first pillar. While this may provide a short‑term boost to public finances, it will not eliminate the structural gap, Koršňák said.