Pensions at a Glance

Pensions at a Glance

Asia/Pacific You do not have access to this content

Authors:
OECD, The World Bank
Publication Date :
08 Jan 2009
Pages :
102
ISBN :
9789264059771 (PDF)
DOI :
10.1787/9789264059771-en

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The report analyses the retirement income systems of 18 Asian countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. It says that reform is needed because: coverage of formal pension systems is relatively low; withdrawal of savings before retirement is very common; pension savings are often taken as lump sums and often do not provide people with adequate income over their lifetime; pensions payments are not automatically adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living.

In OECD countries, an average of 70% of the working-age population are eligible for a pension. However in South Asia, just 7.5% of the working-age population are eligible and in East Asia 18%. Furthermore, few countries in Asia/Pacific have social pensions to provide safety-net retirement incomes for people who are not members of formal schemes. Only in India are social pensions significant, with around 10 to 15% of older people covered.