We are accused frequently of doing nothing about the ageing population and the consequent hole in pension funds. But you have to understand that, at the moment at any rate, there are no popular solutions to this problem. Either we raise the retirement age or we increase taxes on working people. Neither of these is a vote winner. I think a lot of us in government are hoping that if we just hold on a bit, then sooner or later another solution will present itself. I don't believe in the capital markets. For a start they are unpredictable and for another thing, not everyone has the possibility to take such risks with their money. I have always been of the view that you pay taxes through your working life in order to enjoy certain benefits from the state and certain protection against difficult times. For example, in case of unemployment or sickness or for your retirement, for that matter. So when I retire, I will live on what the government is due to give me. If I can't afford cruises in the Caribbean, then that's too bad.


我们经常会指控政府对于老龄人和退休金漏洞问题什么都不做。但你要明白，无论如何此时此刻，是没有一个好的方案来解决问题。 无论是提高退休年龄还是增加劳动人民的税收，都不能得到人们的支持。在我看来，许多的政府官员希望只要维持现状，另一个解决方案迟早会自然而然地出现。我不相信金融市场，一来是因为其不可预测性，另外是因为并不是所有人都能用他们的钱承担这样的风险。我们一直都抱有这样的想法，我们工作生涯缴纳税收是为了享国家的某些福利和在困难时期如失业，生病或者是退休时获得某些救济。所以我退休后，我会依靠政府的资助过活，这是政府的责任。如果我不够钱去加勒比海，那真遗憾。