The Belgian pension organisation requires a sustained match with its essential social, financial and economic goals. This implies reforms that sustain ageing, avoid repetition of the ageing scenario in the future, and make the pension landscape more transparent and simpler.
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| Itinera Papers and Presentations |
Philanthropy, also in times of crisis
03 March 2010
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Philanthropy could be considered as an economic activity that creates welfare: a donation of 500 Euros, for example, means that the act of giving is worth more to the donator than the given amount of 500. The receiver’s welfare will increase too, and therefore we could speak of a philanthropy multiplicator effect. Encouraging philanthropy by fiscal means can thus be seen as creating value added. |
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Social security as a tool, not as a goal
24 February 2010
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Marc De Vos reflects about the necessity of a welfare state reform. We can create a breathing space by realizing that social protection can do without social security. Social protection has an economic future. Acting for this future also means acting for the future of social security. Social security can improve if we consider it as a tool and not as a goal on itself. |
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Eurozone credibility put to the test
16 February 2010
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The one who simply reduces the current crisis of confidence in the member states solvency to a Greek problem, understood very few things. There are risks associated to the large expansion of the eurozone which are too often dictated by political motives, let’s hope that the European leaders will notice this now. As Europe gives a signal not just to watch but to undertake appropriate action, is it important that one indicates the exact bounderies of how far and under which conditions support can be given. It is also an evidence that at present and in the future a lot of lessons will need to be drawn with regards to the eurozone. |
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Consuming more or consuming less
08 February 2010
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During the twentieth century, the global population increased by 6 billions (four times more) and the industrial production increased by a factor 40. Our energy consumption went up by a factor 16 and CO² emissions by a factor 10. In this context, it is crucial to wonder if our current consumption pattern will endanger the living standards of future generations to come. The conclusion seems to be that it is not so much our consumption level that will endanger our well-being in the long run, but rather the composition of what we consume (e.g. polluting goods versus less polluting goods) |
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When will Belgium let unwillingness and incapacity behind her?
04 February 2010
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Marc De Vos makes some New Year reflections about the state of Belgium. In his view, we had a lost decade with unwillingness and incapacity. First, change will come step by step. The federal elections pulse will then really be necessary to put an end to incapacity. |
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| External Papers and Presentations |
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The Itinera Institute offers interested readers a selection of recent and topical publications and presentations from external sources, with a relevant angle towards the Institute’s key issues for Belgium. The selection is updated regularly and readers have the opportunity to stay on track through RSS for each issue. The selection in no way reflects a policy preference on behalf of the institute and is done for information purposes only. Suggestions for publications or presentations are welcome and can be sent to info@itinerainstitute.org
A higher State Pension Age in the UK
09 March 2010
| In the UK, a higher State Pension Age (SPA) has been accepted by the government as one of the solution to the ageing challenge. It will gradually increase from 65 to 68 years between 2024 and 2046. In Belgium, such a measure is very unpopular among trade unions and politicians. In this report, PwC analyzes this measure in the UK in terms of fiscal benefits, public finances, workers’ opportunities and employers’ attitudes. With the perspective of a SPA increase, PwC gives an agenda for action to the economic agents implied in the process. |
Ageing and the Welfare State: Securing Sustainability
15 February 2010
| Over the next four decades, increasing old-age dependency ratios exert an enormous upward pressure on welfare spending in most developed countries. As this is mainly due to existing unfunded public pension schemes, many countries have embarked on far-reaching reforms in this area, strengthening actuarial fairness, modifying indexation rules, adding elements of prefunding and, last but not least, attempting to extend the period of economic activity. Efforts to contain costs may also be relevant with regard to public expenditure on health and long-term care but, thus far, no country has started to really deal with these issues. This CESIFO paper discusses all these reform options in the light of securing a sustainable welfare state. |
Basic principles for an ideal pension system
04 February 2010
| Will the National Conference for Pension provide the conclusions we hardly are expecting? Will it suggest the reforms our pension system really needs? After a brief presentation of our current pension system, Voka, Flanders’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, exposes, in this report, the basic principles essentials for the viability of a system aimed at guarantying future seniors’ welfare. The combination of repartition and capitalization, the increase of the replacement ratio and a pension calculus on the basis of the career length belongs to these principles. |
Public and private pensions: Lessons from the crisis
18 January 2010
| The population of Europe is ageing and, as a result, pension systems are exposed to major difficulties. This requires measures to increase employment rates, to prolong working lives, promote qualified migration, and to curb, to some extent, income replacement rates. Private pension systems are, just like the public ones, dependent on adequate economic growth rates, as well as being equally sensitive to demographic change; what is more, unlike public systems, they are highly risk-susceptible in relation to financial markets. Therefore, the much lower-risk approach is to secure old-age pensions via public systems, this ETUI article argues. |
Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
16 December 2009
| Worldwide, pension systems are organized in very different ways. Compulsory and/or voluntary, public and/or private, personal and/or workplace-based arrangements, defined benefit and/or defined contribution: cross-country comparisons of pension systems are not an easy job. In this report, the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies presents an index, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, that compares the pension systems in eleven countries across America, Europe and Pacific Asia. The important notions of adequacy, sustainability and integrity are seriously considered in this index. That is a new approach that could help us to detect good practices abroad. |
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| • Useful links |
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These links present a selection of reference sources relevant for the specific issue. This selection in no way reflects any policy preference but merely aims to provide interested readers with further information sources. The full list of external links can be consulted under the “links” section in the navigation bar. Suggestions for further links can be emailed to Itinera.
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