State pensions in Europe: Where do they best cover the cost of living?
Analysis Summary
- Propaganda Score
- 0% (confidence: 100%)
- Summary
- The article presents data on state pension coverage relative to living costs across European countries, citing research from Moorepay and Numbeo. It highlights variations in pension adequacy between regions and notes that pensions often exceed or fall short of covering basic expenses depending on location.
Fact-Check Results
“State pensions as a share of living costs vary widely across Europe.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to confirm or refute variation in state pension costs across Europe
“In Northern and Western Europe, pensions often meet or exceed basic expenses while in Eastern Europe and the Balkans they often fall short of covering them.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to verify regional differences in pension adequacy
“In 20 out of 39 European countries, they do not, according to research by payroll and HR firm Moorepay.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to confirm Moorepay's research findings
“Living costs exclude rent. If rent were included, this number would likely rise significantly.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive about data exclusion criteria for living costs
“So, how much of living costs are covered by state pensions, excluding rent, as of late 2025?”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive about 2025 pension adequacy data
“Across the 39 European countries, including EU members, candidate countries, EFTA countries and the UK, pensions as a share of living costs range from 22% in Georgia to 225% in Luxembourg.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to verify pension-to-cost ratios in specific countries
“This reflects the living cost of a single person and one pension in late October 2025.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive about data collection timelines or methodology
“In Luxembourg, the average state pension is €28,790 while the cost of living is €12,791. This leaves a surplus of €15,989.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to verify Luxembourg's pension figures
“Pensions are also more than double the cost of living in Italy (210%) and Finland (208%).”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to confirm Italy/Finland pension figures
“Pensions as a share of living costs range between 150% and 180% in several other countries, which is still comparatively high.”
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INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
— No evidence in archive to verify pension coverage percentages
“However, the situation is not good in many countries, falling below 65% in several cases.”
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PENDING
“Older people in Europe rely mainly on pensions for their income.”
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PENDING
“Pensions as a share of living costs are also 53% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 58% in Cyprus, 61% in North Macedonia, 64% in Turkey and 65% in Latvia.”
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PENDING
“Pensions are not enough in 20 countries.”
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PENDING
“Albania (29%), Ukraine (29%) and Moldova (42%) follow Georgia (22%) at the lower end. In all these countries, pensions are not enough to cover even half of living costs.”
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PENDING
“Two-thirds (66%) of the income of people aged 65 and over in Europe comes from public transfers according to OECD.”
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PENDING
“In some cases, they still cover over 80% of living costs. These include Slovenia (95%), Slovakia (94%), Estonia (91%), Portugal (90%), Montenegro (89%), Lithuania (85%), Croatia (82%) and Hungary (81%).”
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PENDING
“Six countries fall between 100% and 150%. State pensions are still sufficient to cover the cost of living for a single person, excluding rent, but the surplus is limited.”
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PENDING