The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ensures that maintaining the system of "generous" pensions in Spain without modifications "is not sustainable" and can only be supported at the expense "of the younger generation, which is already at a disadvantage."

"Generous" pensions in Spain have helped older people to "navigate" the crisis better than young people, who have been "particularly disadvantaged," the Fund said in a report on social spending.

The report, entitled "Effectiveness and equity in social spending: the case of Spain", has pointed out that "inequality in Spain is higher than in its European Union (EU) partners."

"Pensions are the largest part of social protection and are considered quite generous in the regional comparison. As a result, poverty in the elderly in Spain is relatively low and pensioners have been well protected from the global financial crisis," has added.

However, he warned that maintaining the pension system "without comprehensive reforms is not sustainable and would be done at the expense of the younger generation, which is already disadvantaged." It recommends, in this sense, encourage longer working lives , raise revenues without increasing already high contributions and encourage additional savings.

The agency indicated that a quarter of the Spanish population is still at risk of poverty or social exclusion , and in August 2019, despite the trend towards improvement, 32.2% of Spain's youth workforce (between 16 and 24 years old) was unemployed, compared to 15.4% in the euro zone.

After the acute economic crisis, social spending policies have raised the need to respond but are restricted by "high public debt", close to 100% of gross domestic product (GDP) and three times higher than in 2007, and the pressures of "a society in the process of aging".

"Social spending alone cannot reduce inequality, and efforts should also be directed towards a more inclusive labor market," he said.

In this regard, the agency led by Kristalina Georgieva said that "the large difference in the costs of dismissal between fixed and temporary continues to be the cause of companies offering few indefinite contracts."

In its latest growth forecasts for Spain, the agency projected a slowdown in economic growth to 1.6% in 2020, two tenths less than expected, weighed down by the reduction in domestic demand and exports. EFE

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