Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity Panel 3 – Pension system reform Thirty-first session of ECLAC Montevideo, Uruguay, March 2006

To strengthen pension system coverage, the region must address:  Population ageing and low pension coverage  Segmented and financially compromised contributory systems  Non- contributory systems with financing difficulties

Pension systems reform agenda (1)  Expand coverage through the non- contributory component Targeted pensions can halve poverty among over-65s at an average cost of 0.9% of GDP  Reforms of contributory systems: Contributory solidarity Financial viability Discretionary parametric reforms Notional accounts

Pension systems reform agenda (2)  Individual capitalization should be regarded as supplementary Different arrangements, transition costs Industrial organization  Work towards unification of pension systems Promote equity by standardizing and unifying benefits Enable portability of benefits, thus facilitating labour mobility