Sorry for any cross-posting
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I would like to draw your attention to our latest Policy Brief "Fiscal 
and Pension Sustainability: Present and Future Issues in EU Countries" 
written by Asghar Zaidi.

Abstract:
The challenges of fiscal sustainability that EU Member States face are 
well documented, and the focus is justifiably on addressing them. But, 
the impact of policy reforms now on the future for pension systems and 
incomes of future retirees is less clearly articulated: this Policy 
Brief has explored this issue of pension sustainability in EU countries. 
Equally, the need for sustained policy remedies to the current economic 
crises is widely recognised. Yet, this acceptance has masked the 
relationship between the action taken now and the extent and nature of 
fiscal and social challenges arising in the future: this Brief raises 
the awareness for policymakers of impacts of decisions on policy issues 
upon the pension structures and income arrangements for future pensioners.

As an essential context, this Brief examines the financial 
sustainability of public finances in EU states. This is followed by a 
forward glimpse at the likely evolution of pension incomes in these 
countries, using projections made available by the European Commission 
during 2009. It also examines how the pension reform responses to 
financial sustainability challenges have influenced the reshaping of 
pension systems into a variety of systems that are less redistributive 
in some cases and more socially protective in others. These 
impact-of-pension-reforms results are derived from the OECD simulations 
of pension income entitlements for future retirees. This briefing 
follows on from an earlier Policy Brief “Poverty Risks for Older People 
in EU Countries – An Update”, which stratified EU countries according to 
the poverty risks faced by its older populations (aged 65 or more) in 2008.

The next few years will undoubtedly be a crucial time as EU national 
governments look for the ‘magic formula’ in the shape of proactive 
economic and social policies which not only strengthen their recovery 
from the crisis, but also help them stay clear of dangers of national 
insolvency and avoid the damage to future generations that would be a 
failure to attend to issues of pension sustainability. Achieving this 
delicate balance requires not only the political will to make tough 
policy decisions, but also the ability to persuade the public that its 
own interest requires it to make some current sacrifice to ensure 
sustainability of pension systems. What has become clear is the need for 
continued high-quality and independent evidence base to address both 
current and future fiscal and social issues: the better the evidence, 
the easier it becomes to formulate policy responses and persuade the 
public about the need for, and the consequences of change.

More: http://www.euro.centre.org/detail.php?xml_id=1665


Please feel free to forward the Policy Brief to colleagues who might be 
interested.




Best regards,
Annette Hexelschneider, Dipl.-Ing.
Head of Knowledge and Information Management Support Unit
European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
Berggasse 17
A-1090 Vienna (Austria)
Tel: +43-1-319 45 05-23
Fax: +43-1-319 45 05-19
[log in to unmask]
http://www.euro.centre.org
http://www.euro.centre.org/hexelschneider

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