Pension Reform in the Baltics: Issues and Prospects (International Monetary Fund Occasional Paper)

Part of the Issues in Transition series, this Occasional Paper examines efforts in the Baltic countries to reform their pension systems and looks at the choices they face. Early reforms were aimed at correcting the flaws of the inherited Soviet system. More recently, all three countries - and many others throughout the world - have turned their attention to addressing adverse demographic trends by moving toward a three-pillar pension system incorporating a fully funded scheme. The paper emphasizes that while such pension reforms can have significant benefits, they also impose costs and, in any case, do not allow countries to "escape" demographics.