The Pension Time Bomb in Europe - Softcover

This is a report of a study group sponsored by the Federal Trust which argues that the liberalization of pensions is the major outstanding item of the European Community's single market programme. The text explores the legal, financial and political complexities of completing integration in this field. It makes important policy proposals aimed to ensure the future funding of Europe's pensions. It recommends that the Commission brings forward a new directive, and concludes that, with Europe's demographic trends, the level of indebtedness of state pensions systems will soon become intolerable. The report makes proposals for a new partnership between public pensions schemes and privately-funded pensions. Such arrangements are already widespread in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, but need to be encouraged elsewhere.

The report also argues for the partial deregulation of pensions across the European Union, and for the liberalization of pensions funds across borders; this should substantially increase the integration of the European capital markets and release finance for cross-border investment, such as the transnational projects proposed by the Delors Commission in its December 1993 White Paper.