Takayama, N. ed. "Taste of Pie: Searching for Better Pension Provisions in Developed Countries,"
Tokyo: Maruzen, Co., Ltd., 2003.
The social security pension systems in developed countries are now quite unpopular, especially among the youth. Policymakers in these countries have been forced to reduce the generosity of the existing pay-as-you-go defined benefit pensions. Part of the lost benefits is replaced by pensions from funded defined contribution individual accounts, but many difficulties still remain.
When it comes to social security pensions, by far the most important question is whether or not they are worth buying. For funded occupational and personal pensions, investment risk, increased administration costs, annuitization and distributional concerns are still major obstacles. Missing are better instruments to minimize risks involved in the funded system.
No contributory pension scheme, public or private, PAYG or funded, DB or DC, can meet its objectives unless contributors comply. Contributors today are ultimately concerned with the taste of pie, rather than its size or its division. Are the pension provisions incentive-compatible? Is compliance effectively enforced?
This volume is devoted to searching for better pension provisions in developed countries. It contains reports on major developed countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. It also deals with critical pension reform issues.
CONTENTS
Preface
Part I Country Report
Chapter 1 The Australian Approach to Retirement Income Provision by Hazel Bateman and John Piggott
Chapter 2 Sustaining Public Pensions in Canada: A Tale of Two Reforms by Ken Battle
Chapter 3 A New Chapter in German Pension Policy: The "2001 Pension Reform" Based on a Paradigm Shift by Winfried Schmaehl
Chapter 4 Italy: The Search for a Sustainable PAYG Pension System by Daniele Franco
Chapter 5 Pension Arrangements in the Oldest Country: The Japanese Case by Noriyuki Takayama
Chapter 6 Singapore's Central Provident Fund: The Pitfalls of a Single Tier System by Mukul Asher and David Newman
Chapter 7 Pension Reform in Sweden by Edward Palmer
Chapter 8 The United Kingdom Pension System: Key Issues by David Blake
Chapter 9 New Trends in US Pensions by Olivia Mitchell
Part II Issues on Pension Reform
Chapter 10 Evaluating Fundamental Pension Reform in Japan and in the United States by Gary Burtless
Chapter 11 Ten Years of Public Pensions Reform by Warren R. McGillivray