A pension system is at the heart of social protection. By ensuring income security for older persons and other vulnerable groups, it prevents poverty, reduces inequality, and facilitates consumption smoothing. A pension system also affects the working population's labor market choices and has...

"In this paper the authors reconsider the idea of an earnings-related pension system with reserves invested in indexed government bonds as a mechanism to both ensure financial sustainability and improve security. They start by reviewing the characterization of the sustainable rate of return of...

The transition from a wholly public, pay-as-you go pension system to one where pensions are also provided by individual, privately managed pension accounts does not directly affect those receiving pensions at the time of the reform. Nevertheless, it could affect all current and future workers. A...

The World Bank Pension Reform Primer aims to provide a comprehensive toolkit for policy makers on designing and implementing pension reform. It is based on continuously updated information from countries that have introduced reforms emphasizing the role of privately-managed individual retirement...

Notional accounts are designed to mimic a defined contribution plan, where the pension depends on contributions and investment returns. (For this reason, they are sometimes called notional, defined-contribution schemes). Pension contributions are tracked in accounts which earn a rate of return....

The report, Bulgaria: Ensuring Pension System Sustainability Pension Reform Policy Note was written in September 2009. The report states that the Bulgarian pension system has undergone significant and well designed reform in 2000-2003. However, attempts to restore financial self-sustainability...

This note attempts to describe the pension system in Belarus including its fiscal performance, redistributive aspects benefit levels and benefit eligibility conditions. The note also discusses the challenging demographic environment which Belarus pension system is expected to face in the future...

Old age income security in Korea is at a crossroads. The traditional system of family support is giving way to formal retirement savings--most of it mandated by government. Government employees and private school teachers are obliged to participate in special occupational schemes that operate on...

Mongolia inherited a pay-as-you go public pension system providing universal coverage and high levels of benefits (relative to pre-retirement income), consistent with the state provision of all forms of social insurance. The system was reformed in 1995, including the introduction of...