A number of countries have introduced individual, privately managed defined-contribution accounts, where the value of the pension benefit will depend on accumulated contributions and investment returns. These schemes expose workers’ future pension benefits to a number of different risks. To...

This article examines the various policy options that can be applied to promote supplementary social welfare plans, and assesses their validity based on experiences in countries where they have been implemented. Making such plans compulsory is shown to be one of the most effective ways of...

Many countries around the world are partly prefunding their otherwise pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financed social security systems by establishing or further developing existing public pension reserve funds (PPRFs). Most OECD countries have put in place internal and external governance mechanisms and...

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are pools of assets owned and managed directly or indirectly by governments to achieve national objectives. These funds have raised concerns about: (i) financial stability, (ii) corporate governance and (iii) political interference and protectionism. At the same...

The principal purpose of this paper is to analyse the trade-off between the uncertainty in contributions on the one hand and benefits on the other that is embedded in different pension arrangements. The paper employs the funding ratio (ratio of assets to liabilities) and the replacement rate...

In individual account pension systems, members bear the risks and consequences of their investment decisions. If participants behave as predicted by economic theory, such responsibility would be welfare-enhancing as members would invest and hold a portfolio of financial assets with a risk-return...

Good governance is increasingly recognized as an important aspect of an efficient private pension system, enhancing investment performance and benefit security. Yet, despite regulatory and industry initiatives, governance weaknesses persist across OECD and non-OECD countries. This paper...

This paper provides a description of the risk-sharing features of pension plan design in selected OECD and non-OECD countries and how they correspond with the funding rules applied to pension funds. In addition to leading to a better understanding of differences in funding rules across countries...

This paper focuses on the fees that are charged to participants in mandatory, defined contribution pension systems, focusing on the experience of Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Australia, and Sweden. In order to compare fees across countries, this paper looks at the evolution of a...

This paper discusses why the development of pension systems is important for the African region. It also looks at the current pension arrangements in selected African countries. The paper was designed as an overview/background document to provide context and assist discussion at the OECD/IOPS...