Labour wants flexible retirement age in election campaign

The PvdA wants it to be possible for people to retire at the age of 65 if that is what they want. The party is calling for a flexible retirement age in its election program, according to RTL Nieuws.  Under the current rules, the state pension retirement age is increasing incrementally to 67 years in 2012. You can retire earlier, but that comes at the cost of a slightly lower pension. PvdA-Minister Lodewijk Asscher stresses that increasing the retirement age is necessary to keep the state pension affordable. "But you must also consider the people for whom this is difficult", he said to the broadcaster. The PvdA wants to bring an end to pension cuts by adapting the pension contract, according to RTL. The party wants less guarantee on the end amount for pension savers. In return, pensions would have to do resort to pension cuts less quickly and can raise them more quickly. The party also wants to give new fathers three months of paternity leave and scrap the own-risk healthcare deductibles. More money should go to investing in education - give teachers better training, better pay and get them teaching sooner. The PvdA wants to use bridging classes to shorten the transition to high school. And finally the party wants more money for culture and public broadcasting.