If a person is entitled to the payment of an Old Age Security pension or a spouse’s allowance solely through the application of the totalizing provisions of Article VIII, the agency of Canada shall calculate the amount of the pension or spouse’s allowance payable to that person in conformity with the provisions of the Old Age Security Act governing the payment of a partial pension or a spouse’s allowance, exclusively on the basis of the periods of residence in Canada on or after January 1, 1952 which may be considered under that Act or are deemed as such under Article VI of this Agreement.

One of the most important things is the question of security in old age and, in particular, the sustainable and stable financing of old age, guaranteeing a decent level of pensions in the long term.

Demographic changes will have a major impact on public expenditure on retirement and old age pensions, which can be mitigated by being partly privately funded.

29. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in the context of employment policy, to offer women greater incentives to join the labour market and become economically independent at all stages of their lives; draws attention in this connection to the target set by the Lisbon European Council in 2001of raising the number of women in employment to 60% by 2010; this policy should also tackle the causes of the earnings differentials between men and women which have an impact on invalidity and old-age pension levels; believes that this can be achieved by, inter alia, offering girls and women a wider range of professional choices and b ...[+++]y guaranteeing life-long education and vocational training at all stages of their lives, particularly for women returning to work after a period spent devoting themselves to family duties; emphasises that, amongst other instruments, the European Social Fund should be used for this purpose;

8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in the context of employment policy, to offer women greater incentives to join the labour market and become economically independent at all stages of their lives. Draws attention in this connection to the target set by the Lisbon European Council in 2001of raising the number of women in employment to 60% by 2010. This policy should also tackle the causes of the earnings differentials between men and women which have an impact on levels of invalidity and old-age pensions. Believes that this can be achieved, among other things, by offering girls and women a wider range of professional choic ...[+++]es and by guaranteeing life-long education and vocational training at all stages of life, particularly for women returning to work after a period spent devoting themselves to family duties, and emphasises that, amongst other instruments, the European Social Fund should be used for this purpose.

The state social security system, which is financed on a solid footing independent of commercial interests and financial profitability, and which is based on a spirit of solidarity between generations, is in a position to guarantee the right to a dignified retirement and to security in old age for workers who have paid contributions to state pension schemes.