In 1995-96, Mexico shifted to a multipillar approach to old-age security. The objective of the publicly managed first pillar is redistribution; a fully-funded second pillar provides for mandatory individual savings accounts and competitive but exclusive and specialized pension fund management;...

The slowdown and possible reversal in the rural-to-urban flow of labor in Ghana is symptomatic of a basic shortcoming in the country's economic recovery: the inadequate growth of the productive sector in the non-agricultural economy. The rate of growth of GDP has been adequate but much of the...

Because of better health and higher standards of living, people are living longer. By 2030, more than 16 percent of the world's population will be older than 60, compared with 9 percent today. As a result, pension systems will need reform. Most current systems have substantial unfunded...

Pension reform is spreading around the globe, from Latin America to the OECD countries, and major reform projects are being discussed in many other developing, transition, and OECD countries. The authors survey current research issues and country experiences related to old-age social security...

The introduction of a new pension system in Poland in 1999 was the culmination of a long policy dialogue and years of debate. During this period, the role of public opinion shaped the reform and was, in turn, shaped by the reform process. Implementation of the reform was also affected by the...

Collecting social security contributions is an important operational issue in all types of pension systems. Many regimes are plagued by poor compliance and weak, inefficient administration. Some countries have tried to introduce an automatic incentive to contribute by moving systems closer...

This paper argues that it is important to take into account unfunded public pension liabilities as part of an assessment of the overall fiscal situation, including the fiscal positions of pension schemes pre and post reforms. It examines the concept of the implicit pension debt (IPD) and...

Croatia's transition toward independence, and the market economy in the 1990s, exacerbated problems in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system, and ultimately led to its financial collapse. Although a comprehensive three-pillar reform was initiated in late 1995, implementation of the reform only began...

The pension reform in Kazakhstan was instituted to remove a deteriorating, and costly pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) system with limited liabilities, a relatively low worker to pensioner ratio, and accumulating pension arrears. Analysis was conducted to assess whether the economy could sustain a radical...

Public pension schemes in many countries are predominantly of a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) type, particularly in advanced and transition economies. This paper reviews the types of stresses that PAYG systems can experience and discusses a range of policy options to preserve the financial stability of...