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Multimedia Audio & Video: New Bank Report Says World Faces Pensions Crunch
Interview with Yvonne Sin, Lead Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank
 Audio (MP3)
4 minFull Interview
27sWhy the world is facing a pension crunch
22sThe problem is keeping unaffordable pension systems afloat
13sDeveloping countries getting old before getting rich
25sWhat happens if governments take no action on pension reform

 Video (Real)
video19sThe crunch comes from the fact that most countries you know over-promise on what they can deliver. And as a result they basically will be defaulting on their promise.
video26sIt used to be that the high fiscal cost is the primary driving reason. Now because of other social factors, such as women joining the labor force, as well as labor mobility changes how pensions should be designed.
video18sWell the problems in the developing countries is that their population is getting old before the country gets rich - not like the developed countries where they first got rich and then the population aged.
video30sNo it's not a matter of budgeting per se mainly because pension is a very tricky game. When you make a promise you don't have to live good on that promise until 30 or 40 years later. And as a result when a politician stands up and makes a promise, a lot of times these long term costs have not been factored in.
video30sWell if they don't act very often when it gets to a stage where the fiscal cost is so high, they will simply crowd out other expenditures for example, expenditures on teachers, how much they can spend on health care. These are all social programs that just get cut because governments cannot afford it.



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