The coverage of pension systems in the Africa region is limited to the small segment of the population in the formal sector. Coverage is thin partly because traditional contributory pension schemes are not responding to the needs of the informal sector. As a result, a large share of the region's...

This report illustrates a new methodology to develop an Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision (ORBS) framework for funded pensions with a case study of Costa Rica. The approach was used in a FIRST1 funded project in Costa Rica with the regulator and supervisor of pensions SUPEN. The intention is...

This paper defines a universal public pension scheme (UPPS) as a government mandated lifecycle longevity insurance scheme that transfers individual consumption from the working years to retirement. It discusses the differences in four UPPS designs designated as either defined contribution (DC)...

Differences in life expectancy between high and low socioeconomic groups are often large and have widened in recent decades. In the United States, the differences may now be as large as ten to fourteen years. These longevity gaps strongly affect the actuarial fairness and progressivity of many...

This paper identifies and discusses four issues in creating annuities in (nonfinancial) defined contribution (NDC) schemes that are essential for systems' financial stability and fair inter or intragenerational redistribution. The first issue is the choice between incorporating the rate of...

After the financial crisis, some Central and Eastern Europe countries partially or totally reversed the pension reforms they had initiated in the previous two decades. In the presence of an aging population in the region, reductions in replacement rates will be the most likely adjustment...

The penetration level of the insurance and pension sectors in Malawi is low, but it seems adequate as compared with other countries in similar stages of development. Concentration and costs are high, the regulatory framework is outdated or inexistent and supervision is weak. An innovative pilot...

Since the introduction of the KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand in 2006, several countries have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, voluntary funded pension systems with automatic enrollment features. Since most of the literature has focused on countries with the common law...

This paper reviews the factors that should guide the design of private funded pensions to create a complete pension system alongside a notional defined contribution-or public-component. It argues that a mix of public and private pensions is the most effective option to deliver the best...