This paper analyses the distributional effects of the Polish old‐age pension reform introduced in 1999. Following a benchmark Mincer earnings equation, and using a newly developed microsimulation model we project future pension benefits for males born in years 1969‐1979. We find that...

In a simple cohort model we project current per capita age-profiles of labour income and consumption to the future and combine them with the expected future age composition of society. We use Hungarian data of 2012. Due to a shrinking and ageing population this exercise predicts a growing gap...

This paper develops an analytical framework for the design of pension systems, taking the functions of the pension system as the guiding principle. It discusses the economic principles underlying these functions and their implementation in practice. In particular, it distinguishes three...

Growing pension savings lead to deeper capital markets. This can have a positive effect on economic growth by allowing firms that are more dependent on external finance to grow faster. We study this effect using data on 69 industrial sectors in 34 OECD countries for the period 2001-2010 through...

I study the relationship between household saving and pensions, and estimate both the displacement effect of pensions on private saving and the precautionary saving effect due to uncertainty in pension income. Using a lifecycle framework, the consumption function depends on expected pension...

Many EU states have adjusted pension benefits or reformed the pension system in reaction to the recent economic crisis, while other member states have postponed this type of adjustments. In this paper we analyse the welfare effects of these different reactions to the crisis in an economic union....

The paper examines alternative arrangements for intergenerational risk sharing in a small open economy subject to macroeconomic disturbances. Under certain conditions, private pension funds can provide substantial risk sharing across generations. Private risk sharing alleviates the burden on...

In 2007 Germany has introduced a pension reform which increases the normal retirement age from currently age 65 to 67. The present study aims to quantify the macroeconomic, welfare and efficiency consequences of this reform by means of a computable general equilibrium model with overlapping...

Using a model of a two-pillar pension system, designed after and calibrated to the Dutch situation, we explore for the funding ratio of pension funds and the welfare of individuals the implications of replacing nominal debt in the pension fund's portfolio with indexed debt. We consider...

This paper takes stock of the evolution in pension systems and the challenges that remain for the future. It derives a typology of pension systems and uses this to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of alternative systems. After describing how pension systems in the industrial world have been...