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The unexpectedly rapid ageing of the population makes it urgent that we design a system that will encourage those who can provide for their own retirement while helping those who reach the end of their working lives with insufficient wealth to sustain what society regards as an acceptable standard of living. These objectives frequently - and perhaps inherently - conflict. In dealing as best they can with the inevitable trade-offs, policymakers need to have three important questions (among many others) in mind.
First, is the financial support offered to pensioners by the state in retirement sustainable in terms of the burden it places on the working population, who pick up most of the bill in the form of taxation? Second, are the mechanisms by which the private financial sector helps people save for retirement sustainable in the sharing of risk between employers and employees? And, third, is the way in which the state and private systems interact sustainable in the sense that the combination promises people a reasonable degree of financial security without creating unduly powerful disincentives for them to work and save? Research in this area looks at these questions. We look in detail at the impact of various government reforms and proposals for reform to the pension system. Search
Using a sample of individuals aged 55 and over from the UK Retirement Survey, this paper models the probability of retirement in terms of the incentives underlying the individual\'s pension plan as well as other socio-economic factors.
Should the UK switch from a pay-as-you-go to a funded pension scheme? Continuing her discussion of this subject, Sarah Smith, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies investigates the pros and cons.
Tom Clark
In the November 2000 Pre-Budget Report, the government announced a major range of measures for pensioners. Some come into operation in April 2001, while others follow in 2002 and 2003. The most important aspects of the package comprised: above-inflation increases in the retirement pension; substantially above-inflation increases in the means-tested minimum income guarantee (MIG); and the introduction of a new element into the means-tested benefit system for pensioners, known as the pension credit. Overall, the package means the government will pay over £4 billion a year extra to pensioners (2000 prices) by 2003–04. It represents a very substantial redistribution in favour of pensioners, and particularly those on low incomes.
In the first of two articles, Sarah Smith of the Institute for Fiscal Studies explores aspects of the pension problem faced by many OECD countries with ageing populations.
The UK pension system has been subject to almost continuous structural reform since the Social Security Act of 1975 introduced, from 1978, the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS).
Richard Disney and Sarah Tanner
Using data from the Family Expenditure Survey we show that the abolition of the earnings rule in the UK increased the number of hours worked by men.
This paper surveys the issue of public spending on pensions.
Carl Emmerson and Sarah Tanner
The UK government is planning to introduce stakeholder pensions from April 2001 as an alternative to existing personal pensions for people on moderate earnings.
Browse publications & research
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  Past research into pension reform has contributed to evidence given to government on public service pensions.
Reform of the complex French state pension system was informed by recommendations by IFS researchers.
IFS researchers present and discuss new research on retirement saving with a group of business leaders and policy makers.
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