Foreword

Financial Incentives and Retirement Savings reviews how countries design financial incentives to promote savings for retirement and examines whether there is room for improvement. Given the cost financial incentives represent for governments, it is important to verify whether they are still effective tools for encouraging citizens to save for retirement. The publication first describes how countries currently design financial incentives. It then assesses the overall tax advantages that these incentives provide to individuals, how these incentives affect the way individuals save for retirement and the fiscal cost these incentives represent to governments. The publication also compares different approaches to designing financial incentives based on their inherent characteristics and within a common framework to assess the different implications for individuals and governments. Finally, it provides policy guidelines to help countries improve the design of their financial incentives with a view to promoting savings for retirement.