OECD raps all members over pension reforms

GLOBAL - Some countries are "phasing in pension reforms too slowly", the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) states in its latest "Pensions at a Glance" report.

"Although pensions reforms in the OECD as a whole were substantial and necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of pensions systems for current and future retirees, more remains to be done," the OECD notes.

Austria, Italy, Mexico and Turkey were singled out as worst offenders when it comes to slow implementation of the reform.

In Turkey, the statutory retirement age of 65 for men will only be reached in 2043, while it is being implemented for women even later. This means pensions spending will remain high for several more decades.

The organisation stressed early retirement was still a problem in many countries.

"Between 1999 and 2004, for example, the average retirement age for men was below 60 in eight OECD countries, including Belgium, France, Hungary and Italy," sid teh OECD report.

On the whole, most OECD members have now raised their respective statutory retirement ages, the standard being 65 years. Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the UK and the US have opted to raise it to 67. Only France, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Republic still plan to have statutory pension ages below 65.

IPE reported last November, in a preview of the report, the OECD stresses personal pension saving will have to fill the gaps left by the reforms of the state pension systems.

"The average pension promise in 16 OECD countries studied was cut by 22%. For women, the reduction was 25%," the report found.

Furthermore, the body warns in some countries low-earners might be adversely affected by pension reform and a lack of protection measures can lead to an increase in pensioners' poverty.

More information on the report can be found at: http://www.oecd.org/els/social/ageing/PAG