Institutional and regulatory in issues in pension system reforms country experiences and policy options

Abstract

In this study, the pension in Nigeria, Tunisia and Zambia are examined against the background of the experiences of OECD and Latin American countries. The main finding is that pension systems in African countries suffer from poor institutional framework, limited scope of financial markets, and macroeconomic instability. In reforming pension systems, the fiscal and financial sector implications need to be efficiently managed in a sound regulatory framework so as to achieve the objectives of income growth and redistribution. The fiscal implication arises from the potential effect of a reformed system on government's recurrent expenditure on wages and transfers, as well as government's reliance on the mandatory purchase of treasury instruments by pension funds. The financial sector effect arises from the financial deepening that usually accompanies efficient and successful pension reforms. It is argued that the challenge that faces African countries is how to build and sustain the institutional capacity necessary to make pension reform successful. A gradual approach that starts from the building of fiscal and macroeconomic viability, technical, institutional and administrative capacity, while at the same time reforming existing system along the line of multi-pillar, defined contribution, funded system is recommended.