The World Bank reconsiders its pension recommendation - The Economist

QUOTE. Eleven years on, the Bank has taken stock, reviewing how reforms have worked and taking account of criticism and new ideas. The result is a new report, to be released on February 21st. “Old-Age Income Support in the 21st Century”, a copy of which The Economist has seen, is intended to be the definitive guide to the Bank's current thinking. Although the authors insist that it does not herald a new policy approach, it certainly does alter the Bank's public position.

The new report says that the case for the Bank to support pension reform has grown stronger in the past decade. Existing systems are not good enough. “Most pension systems in the world,” it argues, “do not deliver on their social objectives, they contribute to significant distortions in the operation of market economies, and they are not financially sustainable when faced with an ageing population.” UNQUOTE