Developments In Pension Policy Research Articles

PENSION STRATEGIES OF UNWILLING JOINING PENSION PLANS: AN ISSUE OF A RATIONAL CHOICE

This article presents the analysis of Russian «silencers» participation in mandatory pension accumulation. The paper examines the peculiarities of pension strategies of the Russians in forming a funded pension with automatic enrolment through an interdisciplinary approach and methods of statistical data analysis. Based on the achievements of economic science of neoclassical, institutional and behavioral directions, the author argues that the use of such methodological prerequisites as rationality and irrationality of individuals leads to an oversimplification of the relationship between behavioral strategies and their results. The purpose of this article is to analyze the features of “silent” pension strategies through the prism of irrationality and rationality and to assess the consequences of passive participation strategy in the Russian pension process in the 2000s. The article examines the works of foreign and Russian scientists on pension programs with automatic enrolment, while the factual base is presented by materials of the Federal state statistics service and Russian Pension Fund. The article provides an overview of prior works on аutomatic enrolment to retirement plans in the United States and other foreign countries: it reveals critical remarks on the practice of automatic enrolment and reveals the problems of using automatic enrolment in the pension process. The author argues that the economic behavior of the Russian «silent» is primarily due to the specifics of institutional environment as well as the level of trust in the state and financial institutions. It has been established that irrationality and financial illiteracy are not always the primary causes of “silent accession” strategy. The conclusions and proposals of the work can be used for further research in pension strategies and the development of pension policy in Russia.

Individual funded pension accounts and the World Bank: evolving views

Introduction: This paper sets out a brief history of World Bank involvement in pensions. Section 1 considers the period 1980–2000, and in particular a major pension reform in Chile in 1981 and the World Bank’s support for that approach, discussing the reforms and how well, or otherwise, they performed. Section 2 explains increasing diversity of views within the World Bank, and section 3 the more balanced view of recent years.Objective: The main goal of the presented article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and controversies surrounding individual funded pension accounts, with a primary focus on the Chilean model and its global impact. The article aims to critically examine the historical context, the World Bank’s role, internal and external debates, and recent developments in pension policy. Ultimately, it seeks to foster a more balanced understanding of pension systems, acknowledging their complexities, objectives beyond consumption smoothing, and the need for responsive policy adjustments in the face of real-world challenges.Materials and methods: The analysis is based on historical and policy documents, literature review, comparative analysis, qualitative assessments, and policy evaluation.Results: The main conclusion of the article is that the widespread adoption of individual funded pension accounts, as championed by the World Bank and initially implemented in Chile, has faced significant challenges and limitations. While these accounts were promoted as a panacea for pension reform challenges, the article argues that they have not lived up to their promises. Issues such as incomplete coverage, inadequate pensions, high administrative charges, gender inequality, and fiscal transition costs have raised concerns. The article also highlights a shift in recent years toward a more balanced and comprehensive approach to pension policy, emphasizing the importance of addressing poverty relief and broader social protection objectives.

Пенсионная политика России в конце ХХ - начале XXI вв.: исторический аспект

The article discusses development of the Russia's pension policy during the historical period of the country's transition to market economic relations. The purpose of the study: analysis of experience in the development of the pension policy of the Russian Federation in the late XX - early XXI centuries. The article presents a description of the main stages of the pension policy. Regional features of the Far-Eastern problem of pension reform at the beginning of the XXI century are shown.Description of the history of formation of the Russia's post-Soviet pension policy in dynamics and in relation to the all-Russian processes that have taken place in the country since the first attempts to modernize the mandatory pension system of the RSFSR at the end of the 20th century and their subsequent reform at the beginning of the 21st century, as well as with the next stages of modernization and development of the pension system of the Russian Federation in the first decades of the 21st century, is presented. The author concluded about the unreliability of market insurance pension systems based on funded principles and the need to continue finding the optimal model of the state pension policy in the new realities of the political and socio-economic development of the global society.

FROM MARGINALISM TO INSTITUTIONALISM: DISTRIBUTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE FINNISH PENSION REGIME

This study offers a longitudinal scrutiny of the development of pension policy in Finland and evaluates the impacts that the shift from a “marginal” to an “institutional” welfare state imposed on economic well‐being among the elderly. The data that are used stem from household budget surveys from 1966 to 1990. During that period, average income of the elderly doubled in real terms, legislated pensions replaced other sources of income, the traditional cycle of poverty, where the elderly had a higher risk of poverty, disappeared, and income differences between the elderly diminished.