Institute of Economics, Zagreb: Challenges and Possibilities for the Realisation of Adequate Old-age Pensions in Croatia (A Project Study)

Hrvatski mirovinski sustav suočava se sa brojnim problemima i izazovima u zadnja dva desetljeća. Unatoč prilagodbama provedenim krajem 1990-ih i strukturnim reformama započetim početkom 2000-ih, ostale su mnoge nedoumice oko smjera i načina budućeg razvoja mirovinskog sustava. Provedene reforme nisu riješile problem niskih mirovina, već su rezultirale i novim podjelama unutar umirovljeničke populacije, tako da su se pojavile ideje o odustajanju od započetih reformi i povratku na stari sustav. Stoga reforma mirovinskog sustava i dalje ključni prioritet hrvatske vlade. Značajan prilog raspravama o budućim reformama mirovinskog sustava predstavlja studija »Izazovi i mogućnosti za ostvarenje primjerenih starosnih mirovina u Hrvatskoj«, nastala tijekom 2011. godine kao rezultat istraživanja tima stručnjaka okupljenog oko Ekonomskog instituta iz Zagreba i Pravnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Studija je nastala u okviru istoimenog projekta kojeg je namjenskom donacijom potpomogla Zaklada Adris. Studija se sastoji od dva dijela. Prvi dio obuhvaća tri poglavlja u kojima se razmatraju problemi i izazovi mirovinskog sustava u Hrvatskoj, procjenjuje trenutna primjerenost mirovina i projekcije za sljedećih 40 godina te se na temelju istraživačkih rezultata iznose prijedlozi mjera za daljnju reformu mirovinskog sustava s ciljem osiguranja primjerenih i održivih mirovina. U drugom dijelu studije detaljnije se obrađuje dvije teme koje su povezane s reformskim prijedlozima, a to su kontrola rizika prinosa u drugom mirovinskom stupu te financijsko i mirovinsko opismenjavanje u Hrvatskoj. Zbog opsežnosti studije ovdje objavljujemo većinu poglavlja iz prvog dijela studije, koja su neznatno kraćena i prilagođena standardima objavljivanja ovog časopisa. Cjeloviti dokument dostupan je na http://www.eizg.hr/Download.ashx?FileID=7d4509d2-866d-47b7-8214-a2cbf38ff8b9The Croatian Pension System has been faced with numerous problems and challenges during the last two decades. Notwithstanding the adjustments conducted towards the end of 1990s and the structural reforms initiated in the beginning of 2000s, many ambiguities regarding the direction and manner of the future pension system development have remained. Not only have the implemented reforms failed to solve the problem of low pensions, but they also resulted in new distributions within the retired population, so that ideas of abandonment of initiated reforms and return to the old system have appeared. Therefore pension system reform remains a key priority of the Croatian government. The study ‘Challenges and possibilities for the realisation of adequate old-age pension in Croatia’, which emerged in 2011 as the result of the research conducted by a team of experts from the Economic Institute in Zagreb and the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, represents a significant contribution to the debates about future reforms of the pension system. The study was prepared within the project bearing the same title that was financially aided by the Adris Foundation. The study consists of three parts. The first part comprises three chapters that consider the problems and challenges of the pension system in Croatia, assess current adequacy of pensions and projections for the next forty years, and offer proposals for the measures for further pension system reform with the aim of ensuring adequate and sustainable pensions on the basis of the research results. The second part of the study analyses in more detail two topics connected with the reform proposals, and these are the control of the second pillar yields and the spread of financial and pension-related literacy in Croatia. Due to the extensiveness of the study, most chapters from the first part of the study that have been slightly abridged and adjusted to the publishing standards of this journal are published in this issue. The entire document is available at http://www.eizg.hr/Download.ashx?FileID=7d4509d2-866d-47b7-8214-a2cbf38ff8b