The ECP Times, 05.11.2026 – rozhovor s Mojmírem Hamplem, předsedou NRR. Celý rozhovor je stažení zde.
This month, the ECP Times team had the privilege of interviewing Mr Mojmír Hampl, the head of the Czech Fiscal Council, economist and writer, on the subject of the Future of Czech Public Finances, particularly public debt, population ageing, and the financial burden these challenges may place on younger generations.
While not an immediate issue for teens, we asked Mr Hampl questions on whether or not our generation will have pensions in light of recent speculation that they might be scrapped. In response, Mr Hampl stated that this idea of there not being pensions for teens is ‘an exaggeration, one that is not helping’. Instead, he highlighted the importance of what he called ‘purchasing power’ and what that will be like in the future. Emphasising his point further, Mr Hampl said that one thing should be ‘absolutely clear: there will be pensions, the purchasing power is the question’.
One of the most important pieces of information one, especially a young generation, can receive is advice. Working past the retirement age does not sound ideal; however, that is the reality for many who either choose to do so or are forced to continue. In France, for instance, altering the retirement age ever so slightly has led to social outrage, protests and unrest. We asked Mr Hampl whether he has any advice for teenagers in order to minimise the possibility of having to work past the retirement age.
He gave three pieces of advice, all with different meanings. The first, very short piece of advice is to ‘stay healthy for a longer period of time’, ensuring financial security and reducing the risk of having serious health issues later which may necessitate the need to work for an extended period of time to cover the cost of medical bills. The second, rather fascinating, piece of advice given by Mr Hampl is to ‘be engaged in public matters because it has an ‘influence on your future’. One of the biggest takeaways from our questions regarding the retirement age is – as highlighted by Mr Hampl – ‘to not leave it as a matter which is a matter for people who are in their 60s’.
Financial literacy, a topic that has been at the forefront of education for years, is being talked about now more than ever. One of the questions that is being asked is if our generation is actually financially literate in terms of managing money, spending and knowing how to save where possible. We asked Mr Hampl about the matter and if we are more financially literate than our parents and the generations that have gone before us. Our initial thought was that we are in fact less financially literate than our parents; however, Mr Hampl provided us with an incredibly interesting take on the situation. He, as a parent of two children, one in their late teens and the other in their early 20s, believes that ‘[our] financial literacy is so much higher compared to where we were when [he] was their age’.
Moreover, he mentioned what his children, along with our generation, understand. That being ‘spending, saving, using credit cards, leaving the money aside, and investing’. He stated that this would have been ‘unimaginable for [his] generation when [he] was 13,14’. Mr Hampl also believes that ‘it has changed for the better’ and can only ‘improve going forwards’. We proceeded to ask Mr Hampl if he thinks there should be a dedicated lesson or subject on finances in schools across the country. He realised, following the foundation of a small non-profit organisation called INEV (Institute of Economic Education), that the ‘the biggest problem is that the whole curriculum and the way how we tend to transfer the amount of knowledge from one generation to another omits many important things, not only in the area of finance but in the area of law, for instance, so it is very complicated for the people to understand that. He also argues that ‘many practical things, such as the labour market, your rights there, and how to behave, are missing from the school curriculum.
Another important issue we discussed with Mr Hampl was the growing Czech national debt and what could realistically be done to reduce it. With governments facing increasing financial pressures, we asked whether there was a way to improve the situation without placing an even greater burden on future generations. Interestingly, Mr Hampl’s response was rather straightforward. Instead of focusing on reducing the existing debt, he suggested that the immediate priority should simply be to avoid making the situation worse. As he explained, he would be ‘more than pleased if we just do not make the things worse’, arguing that preventing further increases in government spending could allow public finances to gradually move towards a more sustainable position. He also pointed to countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and Spain, where growing debt has significantly limited governments’ ability to make financial decisions. Although reducing the national debt may seem like the obvious solution, Mr Hampl believes that, for the next few years, preventing the situation from deteriorating further would already be an important achievement. Following our discussion on the Czech national debt, we asked Mr Hampl whether younger generations should expect to retire later, pay higher taxes, receive lower pensions, or perhaps face a combination of all three.
His response suggested that the latter is the most likely scenario. However, rather than viewing a higher retirement age as an entirely negative development, Mr Hampl offered a slightly different perspective. As people continue to live longer, he believes that working beyond the official retirement age could eventually become the norm, or even something to take pride in. Rather than introducing major changes to the pension system all at once, he suggested gradually increasing the retirement age, allowing people to work and save for longer. Although he acknowledged that our generation will most likely face a combination of later retirement, higher taxes and lower pensions, he stressed that smaller, gradual adjustments would be more effective in keeping the system financially stable in the long run. Moving away from pensions, we also asked Mr Hampl what economic development would concern him the most over the next 20 to 30 years if he were 18 today. His answer was the slowdown in labour productivity growth across developed countries. In simple terms, labour productivity measures how much is produced for a given amount of work, and when its growth slows, so does the economy’s ability to generate greater wealth. Mr Hampl explained that this is particularly worrying because economies are no longer growing as quickly as they once did, making it increasingly difficult to finance public spending and maintain living standards.
He also pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he believes had a significant impact on the Czech economy, particularly as the country has traditionally relied heavily on labour and production. However, he emphasized that the slowdown in productivity growth began long before the pandemic and remains a much broader issue. For Mr Hampl, finding ways to reverse this trend is one of the most important economic challenges facing our generation. In our current world, governments face pressure to spend more on defence, pensions, healthcare, and the green transition. We asked where the money can realistically come from without placing a burden on younger taxpayers.
Mr Hampl told us that the money now comes from ‘debt’, seeing as ‘this is where we started’. In Europe, ‘we have got a specific European way of addressing this question; we want more of both: more weapons, more welfare state, more schooling, more pensions, yet at the same time more money on defense and decarbonisation’. However, he emphasises the point that he does not believe this system is ‘sustainable given the fact that the economic model is not as productive as it used to be, so I would rather advise to start making some hard choices and prioritise’.
But economic challenges are not the only concern for younger generations. We asked Mr Hampl whether governments tend to prioritise the interests of older voters, while overlooking the long-term financial interests of younger people. His response was quite direct: ‘This is not a danger. That’s the reality’. He explained that, as populations continue to age, older generations have increasing influence over political decisions, often favouring policies that benefit them in the short term. Interestingly, Mr Hampl suggested that this imbalance could eventually require changes in the voting system. One idea that he proposed is allowing parents to cast additional votes on behalf of their children, giving younger generations greater representation in elections. Although he acknowledged that this might be controversial, he believes such a reform could become necessary to ensure that the interests of future generations are not overlooked.