In a piece on how to cushion the consequences of population aging in Croatia, Bejakovic bases his observations on the 2011 population census.
The average population age in 1991 was 37.1 years, rising to 41.7 in 2011 (39.9 years among men and 43.4 among women).
Population aging, which differs to biological aging, is a consequence of the lower number of young people, which results from fewer newborns and longer life expectancy.
The average life expectancy in Croatia has increased significantly from 1953 to 2010, especially among women, Bejakovic says, adding that, as a result of better eating habits and better health care, life expectancy grows by more than three months every year.
Changes in the age structure of Croatia's population have many adverse effects, primarily on the labour market and pension expenditures, he says.
Croatia has low population activity and employment, notably among the elderly. According to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, the average age at which people retire is 61, with 32 years of service, or aged 53 with 23 years of service among people with disability pensions.
We retire relatively early, live relatively long and use pensions quite long - women for nearly 20 and men for about 12 years. Although pensions are quite low, many pensioners affect various expenses which exceed 11 per cent of GDP and tend to grow. Due to insufficient contributions, this requires big transfers from the state budget, which directly impacts the deficit, says Bejakovic.
Public pension systems often punish work and encourage older workers to leave the work force because early retirement is punished very little or not at all, while late retirement is not rewarded, he says, adding that the decision on when to retire should be made individually and not because having more years of service is punished.
Bejakovic urges debunking myths that employment of the elderly will reduce room for employing the young. The number of jobs is neither unchangeable nor fixed but depends on many factors, mainly the cost of labour. If labour costs less, there will be more people with jobs, he says, adding that the high overall cost of labour reduces room for employing both older and young people legally and increases undeclared work.