"This note adds to the existing literature by examining the enabling conditions for the creation of mandatory funded pension funds, and identifying additional factors that are important to consider in the early stages of the reform. The note stresses the importance of some factors that had...

This paper provides an assessment of the Polish funded pension system and the quality of the regulatory framework for the accumulation phase. There are two elements that distinguish the Polish pension fund portfolios from other reforming countries': the relatively high component of domestic...

There is no doubt that on average the performance of state financial institutions around the world has been below the lowest expectations. Lack of governance, management skills, regulation, and transparency, and misguided incentives have contributed to discredit these institutions for supporting...

The overwhelming number of contributors that have been allocated into the default option is one of the main characteristics of the Russian second pillar. This finding confirms that the level of financial literacy for most of the participants is not sufficient to make informed portfolio...

Pension systems in Europe and Central Asia are facing unprecedented demographic change. While many of the countries in the region have undertaken reforms when the economy faces difficult times, these reforms are frequently reversed when the economy improves. The demographic challenges that the...

Past performance of development banks, has generally been considered poor and the value of state ownership questioned. There are few institutions that achieve the optimum balance of effectively addressing a policy objective while being financially sustainable. Following the financial crisis,...

Since the early 1980s, the structure of arrangements to provide retirement income has gradually moved from defined benefit (DB) systems to various types of arrangements in which the provision of pensions is backed by assets, either in individual accounts or in collective schemes. This change has...

Defined contribution pension systems have faced criticism in the wake of the financial and economic crisis for not delivering adequate and sustainable pension incomes at retirement. Much of the problem has centered around the misalignment of pension fund management companies and the interests of...