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Funding in Public Sector Pension Plans - International Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Eduard Ponds
  • Clara Severinson
  • Juan Yermo
Abstract
Most countries have separate pension plan for public sector employees. The future fiscal burden of these plans can be substantial as the government usually is the largest employer, pension promises in the public sector tend to be relatively generous, and future payments have to be paid out directly from government revenues (pay-as-you-go) or by funded plans (pension funds) which tend to be underfunded. The valuation and disclosure of these promises in some countries lacks transparency, which may be hiding potentially huge fiscal liabilities that are being passed on to future generations of workers. In order to arrive at a fair comparison between countries regarding the fiscal burden of their DB public sector pension plans, this paper gathers more evidence on public sector pension plans regarding the type of pension promise and quantifies the future tax burden related to these pension promises. The reported liabilities are recalculated using both a fair value approach (local market discount rates) and a common, fixed discount rate across all countries which reflects projected growth in national income. We also estimate for a number of plans from a sample of OECD countries the size of the net unfunded liabilities in fair value terms as of the end of 2008. This fiscal burden can also be interpreted as the implicit pension debt in fair value terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Eduard Ponds & Clara Severinson & Juan Yermo, 2011. "Funding in Public Sector Pension Plans - International Evidence," NBER Working Papers 17082, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17082
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Disney & Carl Emmerson & Gemma Tetlow, 2009. "What is a Public Sector Pension Worth?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(541), pages 517-535, November.
    2. Robert Novy-Marx & Joshua D. Rauh, 2008. "The Intergenerational Transfer of Public Pension Promises," NBER Working Papers 14343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Robert Novy-Marx & Joshua D. Rauh, 2009. "The Liabilities and Risks of State-Sponsored Pension Plans," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(4), pages 191-210, Fall.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Damiaan H. J. Chen & Sweder J. G. Wijnbergen, 2020. "Redistributive Consequences of Abolishing Uniform Contribution Policies in Pension Funds," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 305-341, September.
    2. Chen, Damiaan H.J. & Beetsma, Roel M.W.J. & Broeders, Dirk W.G.A. & Pelsser, Antoon A.J., 2017. "Sustainability of participation in collective pension schemes: An option pricing approach," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 182-196.
    3. Lekniūtė, Zina & Beetsma, Roel & Ponds, Eduard, 2019. "U.S. municipal yields and unfunded state pension liabilities," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 15-32.
    4. Marhanum Che Mohd Salleh & Mohammad Abdul Matin Chowdhury & Siti Salwani Razali & Nan Nurhidayu Megat Laksana, 2020. "Retirement Schemes, its Challenges and Ways of Reformation: A Cross-Border Study," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(9), pages 507-520, September.
    5. Meijdam, A.C. & Ponds, E.H.M., 2013. "On the Optimal Degree Of Funding Of Public Sector Pension Plans," Other publications TiSEM 1c5b7af1-e1ee-4d01-a341-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Ponds, E.H.M. & Severinson, C. & Yermo, J., 2012. "Implicit debt in public sector plans : An international comparison," Other publications TiSEM 8263bb65-8b50-4890-9252-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Damiaan H. J. Chen & Sweder J. G. Wijnbergen, 2020. "Redistributive Consequences of Abolishing Uniform Contribution Policies in Pension Funds," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 305-341, September.
    8. Lekniute, Z. & Beetsma, R.M.W.J. & Ponds, Eduard, 2016. "Fooling the Market? Municipal Yields and Unfunded State Pension Liabilities," Other publications TiSEM 591eb14d-c598-4297-a775-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Landon, Stuart & Smith, Constance, 2018. "Does a Discount Rate Rule Ensure a Pension Plan Can Pay Promised Benefits without Excessive Asset Accumulation?," Working Papers 2018-1, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    10. Damiaan Chen & Roel Beetsma & Dirk Broeders, 2015. "Stability of participation in collective pension schemes: An option pricing approach," DNB Working Papers 484, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    11. Stuart Landon & Constance Smith, 2019. "Managing Uncertainty: The Search for a Golden Discount-Rate Rule for Defined-Benefit Pensions," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 530, January.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • H83 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Public Administration

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