Topic: 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference & the Second Green Industry and Sustainable Consumption Expo. The "2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference" was held in Shanghai from October 20 to 22.
Robert Holzmann, former Governor of the Austrian Central Bank, pointed out that since industrialization, human lifespans have continued to lengthen, and combined with the demographic challenges currently facing some countries, the financial pressure on pensions, medical care, and long-term care has caused public social spending to keep rising. Clearly, the pressure on northern countries is especially severe. "We have found a phenomenon: birth rates are falling in all northern countries, and even aging in Africa is pushing fertility rates down, which will further lower replacement levels. This will cause the old-age dependency ratio to deteriorate sharply in the coming decades," Holzmann emphasized. Lower fertility rates and slow or even negative growth in the working population have had a negative impact on pension contribution revenue. He proposed introducing new policy tools to claw back the excess profits earned by technology companies represented by AI, in order to supplement pensions.
In Holzmann's view, a pension system is like a financing system that needs to be balanced. First, the number of people receiving benefits can be reduced. Second, the contribution rate can be raised, or the timing of payouts can be changed. Holzmann introduced a pension system currently under study, referencing the contribution-based defined system promoted by Sweden and other European countries 10 to 15 years ago: drawing on self-funded and non-self-funded contribution mechanisms to calculate the rate of return (interest rate), forming a fund pool, and ensuring that this money can continue to pay benefits throughout the remaining years after retirement. He said this mechanism is designed to be neutral, connecting the working and retirement stages, and setting a minimum retirement age as a backstop against pension hardship; at the same time, it is paired with delayed retirement (Sweden currently uses 67, and many places are still discussing 69, 70, or even 79), and the key to making this model work is ensuring long-term social sustainability.
In order to maintain social welfare programs, Holzmann also suggested creating a "silver labor market" so that older people can continue working after retirement, combining the enjoyment of retired life with work. "Without such a silver labor market, our social welfare programs will be difficult to sustain."
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