Driven by unfavorable demographic developments and unsustainable,
outdated or fragmented systems, pension reform has been at the top of
political agendas across the globe for many years now. The reform process
in the wide range of countries addressed by this survey differs considerably
from country to country. This is why Allianz first introduced the Pension
Sustainability Index (PSI)1, which combines the various characteristics of
pension systems with the factors that influence them to help track and
evaluate policy changes made in different countries around the world. In
addressing the sustainability of a country’s public pension system, the PSI
can give an indication of a country’s need for reforms to maintain longterm
financial sustainability. This can be difficult to assess given the many
country-specific institutional, technical and legal parameters. There are,
however, key variables that impact on the sustainability of national pension
systems regardless of a country’s distinct parameters. By taking a methodical
approach to studying these dynamic variables, the PSI is able to evaluate the
long-term sustainability of national pension systems and thus the pressure
on governments to reform these.