Implicit debt in public sector plans: An international comparison

Most countries have separate pension plans for public-sector employees. The future fiscal burden of these plans can be substantial as the government usually is the largest employer, pension promises in the public sector tend to be relatively generous, and future payments have to be paid out directly from government revenues (pay-as-you-go) or by funded plans (pension funds) which tend to be underfunded. The valuation and disclosure of these promises in some countries lacks transparency, which may hide potentially huge fiscal liabilities to be passed on to future generations of workers. In order to arrive at a fair comparison between countries regarding the fiscal burden of their public-sector pension plans, this article recommends that unfunded pension liabilities should be measured and reported according to a standard approach for reasons of fiscal transparency and better policymaking. From a sample of Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the size of the net unfunded liabilities as of the end of 2008 is estimated in fair value terms. This fiscal burden can also be interpreted as the implicit pension debt in fair value terms

Evaluating the Design of Private Pension Plans: Costs and Benefits of Risk-Sharing

The principal purpose of this paper is to analyse the trade-off between the uncertainty in contributions on the one hand and benefits on the other that is embedded in different pension arrangements. The paper employs the funding ratio (ratio of assets to liabilities) and the replacement rate (ratio of benefits to salaries) as key criteria for evaluating the risk sharing characteristics of a private pension plan from the perspective of the plan member. The stochastic simulations performed show that hybrid plans (those in between traditional DB and individual DC) appear to be more efficient and sustainable forms of risk sharing than either of the other two. Of the three main hybrid plans analysed, conditional indexation plans appear to have the greatest potential as sustainable forms of risk sharing. Évaluer la conception des plans de pension privés : coûts et avantages du point de vue du partage des risques Le principal objectif de ce document est d'analyser l'arbitrage entre le degré de certitude (d'incertitude) des cotisations, d'une part, et des prestations, d'autre part, inscrit dans les différents systèmes de pension. Le coefficient de capitalisation (rapport des actifs aux engagements) et le taux de remplacement (rapport entre les prestations et le salaire) sont les critères clés considérés pour évaluer les caractéristiques en termes de partage des risques des plans de pension privés du point de vue de l'adhérent à un plan. Les simulations stochastiques réalisées montrent que les plans hybrides (plans qui se situent entre les traditionnels plans à prestations définies et les plans à cotisations définies individuels) semblent être une forme de partage des risques plus efficiente et plus viable que les deux autres. Parmi les trois grands types de plans hybrides analysés, les plans à indexation conditionnelle semblent les plus aptes à assurer un partage des risques de façon pérenne.hybrid plans, defined contribution, risk sharing, funding, pension benefit, defined benefit, pension fund, fonds de pension, prestation de pension, cotisations définies, partage des risques, capitalisation, prestation définie, plans hybrides

Evaluating risk sharing in private pensions plans

The principal purpose of this article is to analyse the trade-off between the (un)certainty in contributions on the one hand and benefits on the other that is embedded in different pension arrangements. The article employs the funding ratio (ratio of assets to liabilities) and the replacement rate (ratio of benefits to salaries) as key criteria for evaluating the risk sharing characteristics of a private pension plan from the perspective of the plan member. The stochastic simulations performed show that hybrid plans (those in between traditional DB and individual DC) appear to be more efficient and sustainable forms of risk sharing than either of the other two. Of the three main hybrid plans analysed, conditional indexation plans appear to have the greatest potential as sustainable forms of risk sharing.