Beyond Contributory Pensions : Fourteen Experiences with Coverage Expansion in Latin America
Latin America's population is aging, and many among the growing elderly population are not protected by traditional pension schemes. In response, policy makers have been reevaluating their income protection systems so that between 2000 and 201...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/11/20459032/beyond-contributory-pensions-fourteen-experiences-coverage-expansion-latin-america http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20602 |
| Summary: | Latin America's population is
aging, and many among the growing elderly population are not
protected by traditional pension schemes. In response,
policy makers have been reevaluating their income protection
systems so that between 2000 and 2013, the majority of Latin
American countries reformed their social pension schemes to
provide near-universal coverage for the elderly. Before this
unprecedented wave of reform, most income protection in
Latin America was provided through contributory pensions
available only to formal sector workers. Considering that
informal and unpaid employment characterize labor force
participation throughout the region, many elderly were left
vulnerable to poverty. The new noncontributory pension
programs have alleviated this risk. But countries are still
evaluating how to best balance the need for inclusivity with
the need for fiscal sustainability. This report examines
recent reforms in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. All
countries share the goal of comprehensive pension coverage,
but each has unique political environments, social
conditions, and economic capacities. Design and
implementation of coverage expansion, consequently, has
diverged. Comparing results across the region reveals which
policies have yielded the most equitable and sustainable
outcomes. Each chapter includes a comprehensive analysis of
a country's reform experience: a description of
significant political and economic developments, the
challenges of implementing income protection policies, and
prospects for the reforms' durability over time. This
report represents a significant addition to the literature
on income protection for the elderly. |
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