The European Commission has called on its member states to promote longer working lives in a bid to guarantee adequate and sustainable pensions for citizens amid demographic ageing and difficult economic situation across Europe.

The commission, the European Union's executive arm, has encouraged member states to accomplish this by linking retirement age with life expectancy, restricting access to early retirement and closing the pension gap between men and women, as proposed in a white paper on pension system published here on Thursday.

Apart from promoting longer working lives, the paper also suggests a variety of other measures at the European level to support national pension reforms, such as creating better opportunities for older workers, developing complementary private retirement schemes, etc.

"Ensuring adequate pensions for the future is possible if we follow through on our commitments to reform," said Laszlo Andor, the EU's commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, here on Thursday.

Pensions are the main income source for about a quarter of the EU's population, particularly as the baby-boomers reach retirement and the bloc's working population should start to shrink from next year.

"The impact of ageing is upon us - the baby-boomers are retiring and fewer youngsters are entering the labor market. But it isn't too late to meet these challenges," Andor said.

Many Europeans expressed their willingness to stay in the labor market even beyond their age if the conditions were right, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.