eBook

Adequacy of Retirement Income after Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe

Holzmann, Robert, Guven, Ufuk

2009

Overview

All countries in the former transition economies of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe have undertaken public pension reforms of varying depth and orientation, often with the support of the World Bank. Although the reformed public pension schemes provide broad benefit adequacy, in most cases additional measures are needed to achieve fiscal sustainability in an aging society. 'Adequacy of Retirement Income after Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe: Eight Country Studies' assesses the benefit adequacy of the reformed pension systems for eight countries—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia—to identify policy gaps and options. The authors identify the motivations for reform against the backdrop of the trend toward multi-pillar arrangements, document key provisions, and compare them in the context of the World Bank's five-pillar paradigm for pension reform. They then evaluate the sustainability and adequacy of reformed pension systems and provide recommendations to address gaps and take advantage of opportunities for further reforms. The case studies and summary suggest the following broad policy conclusions: • Fiscal sustainability has improved in most study countries, but few are fully prepared for the inevitability of population aging. • The linkage between contributions and benefits has been strengthened, and pension system designs are better suited to market conditions • Levels of income replacement are generally adequate for all but some categories of workers (including those with intermittent formal sector employment or low lifetime wages), and addressing their needs requires initiatives that go beyond pension policy. • Further reforms should focus on extending labor force participation by the elderly to avoid benefit cuts that could undermine adequacy and very high contribution rates that could discourage formal sector employment. • More decisive financial market reforms are needed for funded provisions to deliver on the expectations of participants and keep funded pensions safe. This book will be of interest to policy makers, researchers, and everyone interested in the topic of pensions in the region, and beyond.

• Publisher: World Bank Publications,World Bank
• Subject: ACCUMULATION PERIOD / Altersvorsorge / ANNUAL RATE OF RETURN / ANNUITIES / ANNUITY / ARBITRAGE / ASSET MANAGEMENT / AVERAGE BENEFITS / AVERAGE EARNINGS / AVERAGE WAGE / BANKS / BASIC BENEFIT / BASIC PENSION / BENEFICIARIES / BENEFICIARY / BENEFIT ADJUSTMENT / BENEFIT FORMULA / BENEFIT FORMULAS / BENEFIT INDEXATION / BENEFIT LEVEL / BENEFIT RATE / Bulgarien / CALCULATIONS / CAPITAL ACCUMULATION / CAPITAL GAINS / CASH PAYMENTS / Central Europe / Comparative analysis / CONSUMER / CONSUMER PRICE INDEX / CONTRIBUTION / CONTRIBUTION PAYMENTS / CONTRIBUTION RATE / CONTRIBUTION RATES / CONTRIBUTION RECORD / CONTRIBUTION SCHEME / CONTRIBUTION SCHEMES / CONTRIBUTION SYSTEM / CONTRIBUTIONS / COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE / COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE CENTER / Cross-national analysis / CURRENCY / DEFINED BENEFIT / DEFINED-BENEFIT PENSION / DEFINED-BENEFIT SCHEME / DEFINED-BENEFIT SCHEMES / DEMOGRAPHIC / DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES / DEPENDENCY RATIO / DEPENDENCY RATIOS / DEVELOPMENT FINANCE / DISABILITIES / DISABILITY / DISABILITY BENEFITS / DISABILITY INSURANCE / DISABILITY PENSION / DISABILITY PENSIONS / DIVERSIFICATION / DIVORCE / DOMESTIC MARKET / EARNINGS / EARNINGS-RELATED PENSION / Eastern Europe / ELDERLY / EMPLOYEE / EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS / Europe, Central / Europe, Eastern / FAMILY MEMBER / FERTILITY / FERTILITY RATES / FINANCIAL CRISIS / FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS / FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS / FINANCIAL MARKET / FINANCIAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT / FINANCIAL SECTORS / FINANCIAL SERVICES / FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY / FINANCIAL SYSTEMS / FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY / FOREIGN CURRENCIES / FULL-CAREER WORKERS / FUND ASSETS / FUNDED COMPONENT / FUNDED PENSION / FUNDED SCHEMES / GOVERNMENT POLICY / GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT / GUARANTEED BENEFIT / HEALTH CARE / HEALTH INSURANCE / HEALTH INSURANCE FUND / HOUSEHOLD INCOME / INCOME GROUPS / INCOME LEVEL / INCOME REPLACEMENT / INCOME TAX / INCOME TAX BASE / INCOME TAXES / INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS / INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS / INFLATION / INSURANCE COMPANIES / INSURANCE SCHEMES / INTERNATIONAL BANK / INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION / INVESTING / INVESTMENT RETURNS / JOINT ANNUITY / Kroatien / LABOR FORCE / LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION / LEVEL OF PENSION EXPENDITURES / LIFE EXPECTANCY / LIFE INSURANCE / LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES / LIFETIME / LIFETIME EARNINGS / LONG-TERM CARE / LOW-INCOME / LUMP SUM / LUMP-SUM DISTRIBUTIONS / MANDATORY PILLARS / MARKET CONDITIONS / MARKET ECONOMY / MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES / MINIMUM INCOME / MINIMUM OLD-AGE PENSION / MINIMUM PENSION / MINIMUM PENSIONS / MINIMUM PERIOD / MINIMUM WAGE / MULTIPILLAR PENSION SYSTEMS / MULTIPILLAR SYSTEMS / MUTUAL FUNDS / NOMINAL WAGE / NOMINAL WAGES / NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE / NOTIONAL CAPITAL / OLD-AGE PENSIONS / OUTPUT / PAY-AS-YOU-GO PENSION SYSTEMS / PENSION / PENSION ARRANGEMENTS / PENSION BENEFITS / PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS / PENSION ENTITLEMENTS / PENSION INCOME / PENSION POLICY / PENSION PROVIDERS / PENSION PROVISIONS / PENSION REFORM / PENSION REFORMS / PENSION SCHEMES / PENSION SPENDING / PENSION SYSTEM / PENSION SYSTEM PARAMETERS / PENSION SYSTEMS / PENSION TAXATION / PENSIONABLE AGE / PENSIONERS / PENSIONS / PERSONAL PENSION / PILLAR BENEFITS / Polen / POLITICAL SCIENCE / PRESENT VALUE / PRICE INDEX / PRICE-INDEXED ANNUITIES / PRICE-INDEXED ANNUITY / PRIVATE LIFE INSURANCE / PRIVATE PENSION / PRIVATE PENSION FUNDS / PRIVATIZATION / PUBLIC PENSION / PUBLIC PENSION SCHEME / PUBLIC PENSIONS / PUBLIC SCHEMES / Rentenreform / REPLACEMENT RATE / REPLACEMENT RATES / RESERVE FUND / RETIREES / RETIREMENT / RETIREMENT AGES / RETIREMENT BENEFITS / RETIREMENT INCOME / Retirement pensions / RETIREMENT SAVINGS / Rumänien / SAVINGS ACCOUNTS / SAVINGS PROGRAMS / SECURITIES / SECURITIES MARKETS / Slowakei / Slowenien / SMALL ENTERPRISES / SOCIAL ASSISTANCE / SOCIAL INSURANCE / SOCIAL INSURANCE FUND / SOCIAL PENSION / SOCIAL PENSIONS / SOCIAL SECURITY / SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS / STAKEHOLDERS / STATE ENTERPRISES / STATE PENSION / SURVIVOR PENSIONS / TAX ADVANTAGES / TAX BENEFITS / TAX DEDUCTIBLE / TAX PROVISIONS / TAX PURPOSES / TAX RATE / TAX REGIMES / TAX RELIEF / TAXABLE INCOME / TRANSITION COUNTRIES / Tschechien / UNEMPLOYMENT / Ungarn / VOLUNTARY PENSION / VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT SAVINGS / WAGE / WAGE GROWTH / WAGES / WORKING AGE / WORKING LIFE / WORTH / YEARS OF SERVICE
• ISBN: 0821377809, 9780821377802, 9780821377819, 0821377817