PENSION FUNDS AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN THE CEE COUNTRIES

In this paper, the authors analyze the influence of the international financial crisis on the current architecture of the CEE pension systems and their further reforms. As a consequence of the financial crisis, the very fragile pension reform has been subject of debate in the new member states of European Union, given their deep recession and registered fiscal deficits. In many of the CEE countries, which have adopted/developed later the second pillar, the financial crisis has raised questions in what concerns the benefit of moving to a mixed pension system, in comparison with the former one, which relied exclusively on public pay-as-you-go schemes. The current literature analyses the situation in each of the CEE countries, but does not make an overall analysis of the situation of the CEE countries, member of the European Union. The authors show the short-term negative effects of the financial crisis on the pension reform in these countries, but also the longer run effects, on the continuing deteriorating finances of these pension systems, in the context of the aging of population and unsustainable pension schemes. Alongside reviewing and commenting the national authorities’ responses to the financial crisis, we are proposing also some measures meant to enhance the further pension system reform and to improve the performance of the private pension funds. Pensions have a long-time horizon and it would be very wrong to produce a reversal of the past reforms since the main problems of adequacy and sustainability remain vivid (demographic challenge and population aging). It is also true though that, while shifting from an exclusively public pay-as-you-go system towards a mixed pension system, especially in times of financial crisis, authorities must pay increased attention to the management and supervision of the DC pension plans, to the risk management standards and regulations of the private pension funds, alongside other measures meant to enhance further pension system reform