Pension reform in Europe in the 1990s :

Subtitle
lessons for Latin America
Publication Name
CEPAL Review
Volume, number, page
n.7, pp. 127-142
Year of Publication
2003
Author(s)
FOX Louise
PALMER Edward
Organization Name
Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe
Acronym
CEPAL
Publisher
CEPAL
City
Santiago
Country of Publication
Chile
Full Date
April 2003
Considered Countries
Chile
Australia
United Kingdom
Sweden
Category
Official Documents
Theme
Subregion - European Union
BIREGIONAL RELATIONS UE - LAC
BIREGIONAL DIALOGUES UE-LAC
Government
Civil Society
Keyword(s)
Retirement
Pension Schemes
Change social
Social security systems
Security Sector Reform
Social Security
Social security policy
Latin America
European Union
Social affairs
Old people
Private pension provision
Pensions (income)
Workers rights
Workers
Abstract
Reform of European pension systems started from a situation in which income differentials were fairly small, partly owing to the high coverage of the system. In Latin America, informal working and inadequate coverage are still problems,and income inequality is high. Even so, both regions are moving towards individual account systems with strong links between contributions and benefits. Latin America has introduced compulsory financial accounts. Europe is moving towards lifetime pay-as-you-go accounts. Some European countries have set up notional defined contribution systems. In Latin America, the need to provide guarantees for the poor and the specific problem of women's poverty will be at the forefront as long as coverage remains inadequate. Other important issues are the minimum retirement age and the moral hazard associated with systems that encourage or support early retirement. Where these points and the problems of poverty are concerned, the European experience repays careful study.