The issue of retirement age should be comprehensively reviewed. People over 60 should definitely be given the opportunity to be active and work, but if they are healthy and if they so decide, not necessarily, says the permanent coordinator of the United Nations in the country, Rita Colombia, in connection with the recent proposal of The fiscal council to raise the retirement age to 67 years.

The most important thing is that it should be optional. Because at the moment I am not even sure if people at the age of 67 in North Macedonia today are healthy enough to continue working in the same way as they worked before. That's why I say that this issue should be comprehensively considered and definitely give the opportunity to people over the age of 60 to be active, be healthy and be able to work, if they so decide, she emphasizes.

Colombia says the country is currently facing a second dividend.

It is called the second demographic dividend, people live longer and can contribute longer to the labor market, to the economic development of the country. So the proposal to retire at 67, I don't know if it will work well, but what I would say is that investing in people over 60 will definitely pay economic dividends. Because if the population is older than 60, I shouldn't say older, and I'm almost that age, so people over 60, if they get healthier, if they have an active life, if they want to continue working, maybe not as a second career, but they could start a small business, for example, but it should be of their own choice, says Columbia in an interview for MIA.