Disability pension in the EU: who gets it and why it matters

According to the latest Eurostat data for 2023, 4.6 per cent of European Union residents aged 50 to 74 receive a disability pension. These are people who, for health reasons, cannot continue working or earn more than the statutory minimum wage, but who have not yet reached retirement age. Such pensions are provided by the state as a form of social protection in situations where the ability to work is limited, but age does not yet allow you to count on regular pension payments.

According to the same data, 45.1 per cent of the inhabitants of this age group already receive retirement pensions. Of these, the vast majority are those who retired after reaching the statutory age, and 0.8% receive both regular and disability pensions at the same time. Thus, almost every second European aged 50 to 74 is out of the active labour market and living on state benefits.

The demographic structure of pension recipients naturally changes with age. Up to the age of 60, it is disability pensioners who are more common. After the age of 60, age pensioners take an increasingly significant place. By the age of 70, almost all men (97.2 per cent) and women (89.5 per cent) in this age group receive a standard pension, reflecting the transition to the last phase of economic activity in a person's life.

However, Eurostat data show significant differences between EU member states. The highest percentage of people receiving disability pensions is recorded in Estonia - 11.5%. Almost the same high level is observed in Denmark (10.1 per cent) and Lithuania (9.1 per cent). This is evidence of a broad social protection system in which the state takes on active support for those who have partially or completely lost the ability to work.

The picture is quite different in the southern EU countries. In Cyprus, only 1.9 per cent of the population of the specified age receives a disability pension, in Malta 2.2 per cent and in Greece 2.5 per cent. These figures may indicate stricter eligibility criteria, a lower prevalence of pension-eligible diagnoses, or a lack of visibility in the public discourse.

If we look at the overall share of pensioners, the EU as a whole is led by Poland, where 56.2 per cent of people aged 50 to 74 are living on a pension. In Estonia and Slovakia, the figure is 54.7 per cent. This means that a large proportion of the population in these countries retire relatively early, possibly due to working conditions, health problems or the availability of early retirement programmes. The opposite situation is found in Spain, Greece and Italy, where the share of pensioners in the age group in question does not exceed 35 per cent.

Why are these differences important? A disability pension is not only a support for individuals, but also an indicator of the maturity of a country's social policy. High coverage of disability pensions can reduce poverty and social exclusion among people of pre-retirement age. It also reduces pressure on employment services, helps to preserve household welfare and supports the domestic market.