1. Eurostat pension visits to Member States – Major issues
Pension Workshop 2014 Jens Grütz Eurostat C1

2. Preparing for the supplementary table on pensions
Chapters 17 of 2008 SNA and ESA 2010
Technical compilation guide for pension data in national accounts
Pension training
Country visits – national experience
Pension workshops

3. Country visits - Structure
Institutional arrangements
Data sources / major assumptions
Filling in the supplementary table
Sensitivity analysis for pension data
Further guidance
Exchange of experience
Communication of pension entitlements

4. Institutional arrangements
Various institutions concerned
Government/enterprise acting as pension manager
Explain national accounts needs
Establish contacts on time
Service agreements vs own calculations
Final data transmission by National Statistical Institutes

5. Data sources / assumptions
Overall: good data basis
Problems: Back data for full working career; missing entitlement data (accrual rate); cross-border data
Assumptions: Harmonised set of European macroeconomic and demographic assumptions
Pension fact sheet explaining national data

6. Filling the supplementary table: Issues (1)
Allocation of schemes to the columns of the table
Coverage of the table
Survivor pensions
Disability pensions
Rehabilitation etc. provided by pension insurance
Modelling of complex pension reforms

7. Filling the supplementary table: Issues (2)
Calculation of output
Social security with separate unit; sum of cost; otherwise included in output of government
Own employer scheme; sum of cost plus mark-up
Employer uses insurance company; fee charged
Multi-employer scheme; as for life-insurance * In case of not meaningful results; sum of cost plus allowance for 'normal profit'

8. Filling the supplementary table: Issues (3)
Balancing the table; within a model or using different data sources
Imputed contributions (reflecting experience effects as well)
Identification of other changes
Revaluations
Discount rate
Inflation rate ...
Other changes in volume
Updated mortality table …

9. Filling the supplementary table: Issues (4)
Model
Data
Opening balance sheet
100
Transactions
+ Actual contributions 10 20
+ Imputed contributions
+ Contribution supplements 5
- Pensions paid 15
Other flows
+ OCV (new mortality table)
= Closing balance sheet
110
115

10. Update of the technical pension compilation guide
Further guidance
Update of the technical pension compilation guide
Glossary
More basic information
More information on notional defined contribution schemes
More information on defined contribution schemes
More examples

11. General description of the scheme Assumptions and methodologies
Pension fact sheet
General description of the scheme
Coverage of population, benefit formula
Assumptions and methodologies
Discount rate; indexation; ABO/PBO
Data used to run the model
Mortality tables, entitlement statistics, other data
Reforms incorporated in the model
Specific assumptions
Modelling of careers, retirement behaviour, survivor pensions

12. Communication on pension entitlements
Joint communication strategy
Accrued-to-date pension entitlements are not an indicator for financial sustainability
The results need proper explanations; explaining differences between countries
Level of entitlements sensitive to changes in assumptions
Supplementary table as important tool for the analysis of pension reforms

13. The members of the pension workshop are invited to
comment on the draft pension fact sheet;
comment on the pension compilation guide
identify further elements for the future communication of accrued-to-date pension entitlements.
Thank you for your kind attention