Pension systems and the crisis: Weathering the storm

Abstract

The financial crisis and the deep economic crisis that it spawned have dominated the news for over a year. It appears that no country and no pension system are immune to the crisis. In this perspective, our article looks at the implications of the crisis for retirement-income systems. The actions that governments have already taken to mitigate the impact of the crisis are discussed. Further challenges for pension policy are also assessed. Despite huge short-term political pressures, it is imperative that governments resist expedient reactions threatening the stability and sustainability of retirement-income provision. The long-term challenges of demographic change and population ageing have not gone away and will still have to be faced once the crisis is passed and economies start to recover. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.