An International Comparison of the Financing of Occupational Pensions

This paper analyses the varying scope of private funding of pensions, pension funds' investments and the risks and returns they obtained in the capital markets in twelve major industrial countries - the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Switzerland. The marked differences in national experience raise a number of economic issues, which this paper seeks to address. For example, it aims to consider the role of private funding in retirement financing relative to social security; the role of government regulation of pension funds' financing, and appropriate contribution rates to private pensions. There are clear links between these issues; for example, regulations may influence appropriate contribution rates (via asset returns), and may also be a feature influencing the scope of funding itself. The paper seeks to illustrate the varying choices made in this field by the countries concerned, their benefits and costs and their consequences for the scope and efficiency of the private funded sector. The paper is structured as follows; it first considers the arguments for and against private pension funding per se, before going on to outline the differences in the scope of funding between the major countries and their determinants. It then goes on to assess the differing regulation of pension fund financing and the performance of funds in capital markets; together these enable an assessment to be made of appropriate contribution rates.

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