Sustainability of Pension Systems in the New EU member States and Croatia : Coping with Aging Challenges and Fiscal Pressures

Kąsek, Leszek ; Laursen, Thomas ; Skrok, Emilia

Washington, DC : World Bank

关键词: ACCRUAL RATES;    ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES;    AGING POPULATIONS;    ANNUITY;    ASSET ALLOCATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-7369-9
RP-ID  :  42540

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This report concerns recent pensionreforms in Europe. Over the last decade, pension reform hasbeen a major issue on the political agenda across Europe.All European countries are profoundly affected by agingpopulations resulting from lower fertility and increasedlife expectancy. In order to make pension systems moresustainable in light of prospective demographicdevelopments, and in some cases to address current financingproblems, EU10+1countries have been reforming their pensionsystems since the mid-1990s. The reforms have combinedmeasures to delay retirement, link benefits more closely tocontributions, and diversify risk. Three major forces drivethe ageing process: increasing life expectancy, lowfertility rates, and finally the baby-boom generationreaching retirement age. All these factors, even incountries where the system is currently fiscally balanced,will produce a major financial challenge for pension systemsover the coming decades when the number of pensioners willrapidly increase and the size of the working-age populationdiminish. This report conclude that some countries (inparticular, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Romania) willneed to do more to safeguard the long-term viability oftheir pension systems, and others face ongoing and futurechallenges in ensuring equitable pension systems andadequate living standards for all elderly people.