IMF forecasts pensions time bomb in UKApril 12, 2012 - 13:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain’s ageing population is threatening a pensions time bomb that could cost as much as £750billion, the International Monetary Fund has warned, The Telegraph reported. The IMF said that even a slightly faster than expected increase in life expectancy could impose a huge new financial burden on Western economies such as Britain. “The time to act is now,” it said. Governments and the financial sector have consistently underestimated how quickly average lifespans will rise, IMF researchers found. They believe it has been routinely understated by about three years, which could render public finances unsustainable, they warned. For Britain, the IMF calculated that on the “not unreasonable” assumption that the entire cost would fall on taxpayers, the country’s public debt would rise from 76 per cent of gross domestic product to as much as 135 per cent. In today’s money, that additional cost would be about £750 billion. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Ruling MP accuses opposition of “serving other countries' interests” Khachatur Sukiasyan has accused Armenia’s opposition of serving the interests of other countries Protest leader vows to achieve departure of Armenian authorities According to Archbishop Bagrat, there is only one solution to the situation in Armenia. Heads of Armenian, Ukrainian parliaments hold virtual talks Alen Simonyan and Ruslan Stefanchuk held talks via video conference on Tuesday, May 21. Pashinyan travels to Iran to pay tribute to Raisi, others Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left for the Islamic Republic of Iran on a working visit. |