We all hope to retire one day. Our pensions hold the promise of that.
But when that promise is a public pension, it’s also a lot like debt the government has to pay at some point in the future.
Good fiscal policy means thinking about how policy decisions—especially ones that involve long-term promises, such as pensions—affect government finances both today and in the future.
Problems, problems
The first problem is that good fiscal policy hasn’t always ruled the day, to put it mildly. Today, pension reform is a priority for the advanced economies as current trends are unsustainable—see Commandment V—and for many emerging and low-income economies that need “to improve coverage of health and pension systems in a fiscally sound manner.” (more…)
Filed under: Advanced Economies, Emerging Markets, Fiscal policy, International Monetary Fund, Public debt | Tagged: fiscal indicators, fiscal policy, fiscal sustainability, government deficits, pension liabilities, pension reform, pension-adjusted budget balance, pensions, public debt | 7 Comments »
