Pensions in the European Union

by Hughes, Gerard; Stewart, Jim

• ISBN13: 9780792378389
• ISBN10: 0792378385
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

The ageing, financial and labour market challenges facing the old age pension systems of the member states of the European Union are well known. Those who cast doubt on the ability of the present system of pension provision - at least to the extent that it is pay-as-you-go financed - to cope with the problems posed by these challenges are getting more vociferous. Increasingly there are calls for pay-as-you-go systems to be cut back and for funded systems to be expanded. This book contests the view that funding is the answer. It shows how adaptable the largely pay-as-you-go old age pension systems in the European Union are. Actuaries, economists, lawyers, political scientists, pension advisers, and sociologists, from nine European countries and the United States, consider four main themes: population ageing, competitiveness and retirement; pension financing and economic growth; adapting pension systems to meet change; and decision-making processes. They argue that pay-as-you-go-financed old age pension systems in the European Union have the ability to successfully adapt to economic and social change provided they do not take on too many non-insurance-related risks. Solving the problems of the labour market and controlling the direction and extent of economic development are beyond the powers of old age pension systems, regardless of how they are structured or financed. Separate budgets for separate risks is an indispensable principle if the complex processes of social protection are to be successfully managed, monitored, and made transparent. There can be no single plan for the future development of old age pension systems which would be universally valid for all the countries of the European Union. A single solution cannot take into account the special circumstances obtaining in every nation, and since respect for the special features of national systems is the basis of popular acceptance, the way forward is to reform existing systems in existing contexts.

Table of Contents

Contributors	vii
Acknowledgements	xi
Introduction	1	(14)
Emmanuel Reynaud
Part I POPULATION AGEING, COMPETITIVENESS AND RETIREMENT
Demography, the Labour Market and Competitiveness	15	(20)
Pierre Concialdi
Retirement Age: Public Policy and Employer Policies in Europe and the United States	35	(10)
Lucy apRoberts
Part II PENSION FINANCING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Pension Financing, the Substitution Effect and National Savings	45	(18)
Gerard Hughes
The Effects of a Fully Funded Pension System on Individual Savings Behaviour	63	(8)
Christina Oling
The Control and Centralisation of Pension Fund Investment in the United Kingdom	71	(12)
Richard Minns
A Political Economy Approach to Pension Financing	83	(26)
Felice Roberto Pizzuti
Part III ADAPTING PENSION SYSTEMS TO MEET CHANGE
Equity Within and Between Generations: Pension Systems and Equity	109	(18)
Bryn Davies
Contributions and Taxes for Financing Public Pension Expenditure: Looking for an Adequate Structure of Finance	127	(12)
Winfried Schmahl
Personal Pensions in the UK, the Mis-selling Scandal and the Lessons to be Learnt	139	(8)
Sue Ward
The New Swedish Pension System	147	(16)
Eskil Wadensjo
Part IV PENSIONS AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP
The Decision-Making Process in the German Pension System	163	(10)
Heinz-Dietrich Steinmeyer
Supplementary Pension Plans and Collectively Agreed Schemes	173	(6)
Jacques-Andre Schneider
The Impact of Industrial Relations on the Structure of Supplementary Pensions in Scandinavia	179	(16)
Einar Overbye
Part V CONCLUSIONS
Pay-As-You-Go Versus Capital Funding: Towards a More Balanced View in Pension Policy -- Some Concluding Remarks	195	(14)
Winfried Schmahl
Index	209