SWITZERLAND – The impact of pensions on government finances and financial markets is on the agenda at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week.

“Global ageing will have strong impacts on labour markets, government finances and eventually financial markets,” the forum says. It is running a session on “Pensions: The Many Reasons Why CEOs Should Care” on Friday January 24. A delegate list was not available.

The session is to address three key areas:
-how and when will the business community, so far quite passive in the debate on pension reform, start addressing the issue?
-how can companies prepare the effects of those market forces or anticipate reforms?
-what can be learned from the small number of countries that have made headway on the issue?

The six-day annual meeting in Davos will see more than 2,000 participants discuss a variety of global issues. Other sessions will cover corporate governance and building trust in the financial markets.