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Millennials have a gray future ahead

The Mexican Insurance Institutions Association estimates that four out of 10 millennials could live in poverty during their old age

Young people could live in poverty in the future - Photo: File Photo/EL UNIVERSAL
21/11/2018 |09:34
Redacción El Universal
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Old age

always seems distant, but the majority of the population will get there someday. Unfortunately, not everyone will go through that stage in good conditions. For many, it will be a time of shortage due to a lack of planning. It has been predicted that those between 22 and 35 years , the so-called millennials , won't have a good time.

The Mexican Insurance Institutions Association estimates that four out of 10 millennials could live in poverty during their old age, since they work in the informal sector, without access to health institutions or retirement plans.

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The laws are also against them, the 1997 retirement law , where the workers' contributions are important for their retirement funds and their retirement plan will be of 40% of their salary in the last five years.

Another adversity is the precariousness of work and low wage s in the job market. Currently, 64% of millennials in a job post, 11.8 million, have a monthly income of MXN $7,950 . If the situation persists, they would retire with around MXN $3,000.

Nevertheless, the future is on their favor. They have between 20 and 30 years of working life left, where they can make amends by subscribing and make voluntary contributions to a pension fund administrator , although it would be more helpful if a change in social security conditions for millions of workers was promoted in Mexico .

The country can't allow that in the future poverty concentrates on those over 70. Currently, they have official financial aid, but the number of seniors increases every year. Which means pressure over the country's finances.

Today, Mexico's demographic pyramid has a large base, due to millions of children and young people but the projections outline a different panorama. In three decades, the situation will revert and the pyramid base will be smaller than the middle part, and people between 40 and 50 years will dominate.

Young people

have a gray future ahead of them. Disinterest and apathy attributed to this generation could worsen the situation. It is necessary to spread awareness and take actions to avoid a social crisis in four decades or less.

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