DOES THE ALBANIAN PENSION SYSTEM WORK?

This article analyses the reforms in the pension scheme in Albania during the transition period. An analysis of changes experienced by the performance of the social insurance scheme reveals that, so far, the system is almost entirely dominated by the public scheme “pay as you go”, which for the moment is facing serious challenges. The results of the prognoses show that that these problems will accompany the scheme in the future too. Under these circumstances, it can be inferred that, in addition to the application of parametric modifications to the public scheme in order to strengthen its financial stability, the initiation of a more radical reform in the pension system is becoming crucial. The same conclusion has been reached by many countries which have completed this reform. The paper concludes with some recommendations on how to carry out the reform of the public pension scheme and the proposes the introduction of a multicolumn pension system.