Welfare Reform on the Web (August 1999): Pensions - Overseas

BRUSSELS UPHEAVAL

DELAYS PENSION REFORMS

N. Timmins
Financial Times, April 22nd 1999, p. 3

A directive aimed at liberalising the European pension fund market has been delayed by the mass resignation of the commission. The industry has been pressing for pensions to be run on more pan-European lines as demanded by the growth of multinationals and the increasing transfer of staff from one EU country to another.

DOES ITALY NEED A THIRD ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO REFORM ITS PENSIONS SYSTEM?

Anon
Pensions International, issue no. 6 1999, p. 16-17

The cost of the present Italian pension scheme threatens to rise to insupportable levels. By 2030 spending on pensions in Italy is expected to amount to more than 20% of GDP. The rising costs of pensions in Italy arises partly from an ageing population and partly from the extreme generosity of the system.

SHOULD PUBLIC PENSIONS BE FUNDED?

R. Hemming
International Social Security Review, Vol. 52, 1999, p. 3-29

Paper outlines arguments for and against the funding of state pensions, with a view to establishing whether there is an economic basis for judging it to be superior to pay-as-you-go (PAYG). It is concluded that if funding has an edge over PAYG, it is not an overwhelming one.