Comparison of sustainability indicators of pension systems in the new EU member states

The majority of economies in the European Union are experiencing problems with the sustainability of pension systems that are primarily caused by unfavorable demographic trends and inadequate structure of the pension systems. This research concentrates on the New Member States of the European Union, namely eleven post-socialist economies that have a common history of restructuring of pension systems, which included adaptations in the transition to a market economy and the establishment of a multi-pillar pension model. By comparing fundamental indicators, it can be ascertained that these countries also share similar demographics - slower aging of societies compared to the Old Member States, decreasing fertility rates and mostly negative net migration rates, which ultimately makes the situation on the labor market more difficult. The principal objective of this research is to give an external view of the sustainability of pension systems in the analyzed economies from an international perspective, using different sustainability indicators. Not all of the examined pension systems are subject to the same challenges and changes in the same extent. It can be concluded based on the inferences of our comparative analysis that some countries better cope with the challenges ahead of them, owing to the design features of their pension systems, so they are more easily adapted to changing demographic and economic circumstances.