A Crisis of Longer Life: Reforming Pension Systems

Social security pension schemes around the world are facing a number of problems, of which demographic ageing is the most commonly discussed. This paper provides an overview of expected future demographic developments in European Union and some other OECD countries, and evaluates some of the range of solutions which have been, or are being, considered to address this and other problems facing social security in the late 1990s, drawing on examples from OECD countries, from Latin America and from central and eastern Europe. Consideration is given to the possibilities for increasing the level of funding in social security pension schemes or developing funded complementary pension schemes.