British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Why has it all gone wrong? The past, present and future of British pensions
Abstract
Pension reforms in Southern Europe: The Italian experience
Professor Maurizio Ferrera (Milano)
The pension systems of Southern Europe developed somewhat later than their Continental and Northern counterparts, but adopted relatively generous pension formulas and remained mainly centred on the first pillar. In addition, they evolved with wider welfare state contexts characterized by marked institutional gaps and delays, especially as regards social assistance and services. Starting in the 1990s, the four South European countries have however embarked upon a path of reforms, aimed at reducing the generosity of first pillar pensions and encouraging the development of second pillars - in parallel with more general efforts of welfare state "recalibration". The paper will focus in particular on Italian developments, i.e. on the cycle of pension reforms which started in 1992 and which witnessed a new (and possibly not last) step in 2004.