Are state pensions sufficient to meet the cost of living in Europe?
In 20 out of 39 European countries, they do not, according to research by payroll and HR firm Moorepay. Living costs exclude rent. If rent were included, this number would likely rise significantly.
So, how much of living costs are covered by state pensions, excluding rent, as of late 2025?
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.
This reflects the living cost of a single person and one pension in late October 2025.
While Moorepay collected data on average pensions, the cost of living data comes from Numbeo and represents the national average. The situation may vary depending on the city.
For example, in Luxembourg, the average state pension is €28,790 while the cost of living is €12,791. This leaves a surplus of €15,989. That means the state pension is more than twice the cost of living.
Pensions are also more than double the cost of living in Italy (210%) and Finland (208%). Spain (199%) and Denmark (189%) are also close to this level.
Pensions as a share of living costs range between 150% and 180% in several other countries, which is still comparatively high.
These countries are Iceland (179%), Norway (178%), Germany (176%), Belgium (170%), Austria (165%), France (160%), the Netherlands (159%) and Sweden (158%).
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.
These are Switzerland (131%), Ireland (126%), the UK (120%), Poland (112%), Czechia (108%) and Greece (103%).
Pensions are not enough in 20 countries.
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%).
However, the situation is not good in many countries, falling below 65% in several cases.
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.
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.
Noel Whiteside, visiting professor at the University of Oxford, stated that some EU countries are simply poorer than others and require families to subsidise the pension income of elderly relatives and help out.
Regional gap: Northern/Western vs Eastern Europe
Clear geographic trends exist.
In Northern and Western Europe including Nordic countries, pensions often cover or exceed basic living costs.
In Central Europe, pensions provide moderate coverage. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans, pensions usually cover only part of these costs.
Euronews Business calculated the “average pension expenditure per beneficiary” to show which countries offer the highest pensions across Europe.
This reflects gross old-age pensions based on Eurostat data. However, Moorepay used a different methodology and collected data from domestic sources, including news outlets.
Older people in Europe rely mainly on pensions for their income.
Two-thirds (66%) of the income of people aged 65 and over in Europe comes from public transfers according to OECD.
Private occupational pensions have significant shares in some European countries. A Euronews article, ‘Where do older Europeans get their money?’, takes a closer look at the income sources of older people.
David Sinclair, chief executive of the International Longevity Centre UK, noted that each nation’s pension architecture is a significant driver of pension levels.
