Year: 2004
Type: report
Abstract: Rapid population aging is raising concerns about the sustainability of public pension systems in high-income countries. The first part of this study identifies the four factors that determine trends in public pension expenditures: population aging, pension benefit levels, the mean age at retirement, and the labor force participation rate. The second part presents projections to 2050 of the impact of demographic trends on public pension expenditures in the absence of changes in pension benefits, labor force participation, and age at retirement. These projections demonstrate that current trends are unsustainable, because without reforms population aging will produce an unprecedented and harmful accumulation of public debt.
DOI: 10.31899/pgy1.1012
Author: John Bongaarts
Institutions: Population Council, Population Council
Language: English
Subfield: Accounting
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4250030770