Why a Funded Pension System is Needed and Why It is Not Needed

Based on explicit presentvalue calculations, the paper criticizes the view that the PAYGOsystem wastes economic resources. In present value terms, thereis nothing to be gained from a transition to a funded systemeven though the latter offers a permanently higher rate of return.The sum of the implicit and explicit tax burdens that resultfrom the need to respect the existing pension claims is the sameunder all systems and transition strategies. Nevertheless a partialtransition to a funded system may be a way to overcome the currentdemographic crisis because it replaces missing human capitalwith real capital and helps smooth tax and child rearing costsacross the generations. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000