Though retirement benefits are provided on a local basis, varying country by country, nonetheless the impacts of demographic trends, globalization, regulation, and industrial patterns may be found everywhere. This book is a collection of 40 papers providing an overview of the global retirement support system, offering a comprehensive overview of the major intellectual frameworks and principles, analytical methods and techniques, and policy-related tools regarding nation-state pension and retirement income institutions. The intended audiences are upper level undergraduates, graduate students, and academics in economics, finance, social policy, economic geography, and politics. The papers generally use pension and technical terminology, so the reader needs a basic knowledge of the fundamental concepts of pensions and retirement systems.
The chapters are organized around a logical framework, but each can be read independently. Major sections touch on employer sponsored pensions, individual and household retirement provision, public retirement plans, and future prospects. Pension professionals have access to comparative data from a wide variety of sources such as the OECD, and there is good coverage on Latin America, Asia, and Africa – the latter is particularly valuable as Africa is often omitted in global discussions of retirement. This book will be valuable to those interested in international comparisons as well as those focusing on a single country but who seek broader perspective.
As parallel challenges face policymakers and plan sponsors in many countries, it is often helpful to learn how others have solved similar problems. I particularly liked the concluding chapter on sustainable and equitable retirement in a life-course perspective which focuses on three pillars for the future – the family, the market, and the government. The chapters on Asia and Africa also make clear that the family continues to be an important part of the old age security system. There is also material on working longer and retiring later, which is a key issue for many countries. Also useful was a chapter on housing wealth and retirement. I found quite valuable the discussion of provident funds, which are generally funded, mandatory, defined contribution systems often managed by the government. This work suggests that even when defined contribution plans are large and have been in existence for a long time, they do not always provide adequate retirement income. Problems mentioned include early funds withdrawal, poor investment outcomes, and lump sums rather than regular income at retirement.
Despite its substantial size, some perspectives are lacking. For instance, little is said about why employers or other organizations might establish and run plans. Furthermore, short shrift is given countries where defined benefit plans are doing relatively well. Additionally, there could be more on plan diversity. For instance the U.S. has many different types of plans including private sector larger employers, private sector smaller employers, public sector (state and local government) employers, and multi-employer plans. There is some attention to the role of organized labor in building pensions. That chapter stresses the difference between large and small employers, and points out that unionized employees are much more likely to have pensions, particularly among small employers.
The book is a very good resource on concepts and theory but not on current practice or details of practice. Also the volume was completed prior to the financial crisis, though much of it remains pertinent. Indeed the driving forces in place before the crisis continue to operate now.
