Implementing “Automatic Pilots” for Greek pension reform. Managing the pension crisis against social insurance values
Published:
Apr 20, 2024
Updated:
2024-04-20
Versions:
2024-04-20 (2)
Keywords:
Automatic adjustment mechanisms, actuarial fairness, budgetary discipline, Pension reform
Abstract
Automatic Adjustment Mechanisms have increasingly
been seen as both a way in which
to depoliticize unpopular pension cuts and as
a mechanism to restore social insurance principles,
such as generational equity and actuarial
fairness in the Greek pension system. An
overview of the features of AAMs for main and
auxiliary pensions in Greece is followed by an
analysis of their implementation in the decade
2010-2020. It is shown that the attempt at the
sudden imposition of an AAM during a period
of severe economic crisis undermines and prevents
the functioning of AAMs
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Koumarianos, V. (2024). Implementing “Automatic Pilots” for Greek pension reform. Managing the pension crisis against social insurance values. Social Cohesion and Development, 17(1), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.12681/scad.32227 (Original work published March 1, 2022)
- Section
- Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Anderson, K. (2005), ‘Pension Reform in Sweden: Radical reform in a mature pension system’, in
Bonoli, G. and Shinkawa, T. (eds.), Ageing and pension reform around the world: Evidence
from eleven countries, Cheltenham: Edward Edgar Publishing, pp.94-115.
Angelopoulou, O. (2016), Distortion of the basic meanings of social insurance in the crisis era.
In S. Flogaitis, P. Lazaratos, S. Vlachopoulos, T. Antoniou, P. Paparrigopoulou & P.-M.
Evstratiou (Editorial Committee), Volume in honour of Kostantinos Kremalis: Current issues
in social welfare law (pp. 129-169). Athens: Nomiki Vivliothiki.
Auerbach A., Gokhale J. & Kotlikoff L. (1994), Generational accounting: A new approach to
understanding the effects of fiscal policy on saving, Scandinavian journal of economics,
(2), 303-318.
Blanchet, D. & Legros, F. (2002), ‘France: The Difficult Path to Consensual Reforms‘. In M.
Feldstein and H. Siebert, (eds), Social Security Pension Reform in Europe. University of
Chicago Press, 109-136.
Börsch-Supan, A. (2003), What are NDC Systems? What do they bring to reform strategies?
In R. Holzmann & E. Palmer (eds) Pension Reform - Issues and Prospects for Non-Financial
Defined Contribution (NDC) schemes, Washington DC: The World Bank.
Börsch-Supan, A., Reil-Held, A. & Wilke, C.B. (2003), How to Make a Defined Benefit System
Sustainable: The ‘Sustainability Factor’ in the German Benefit Indexation Formula.
Mannheim Institute for the Economics of Aging, Mannheim University. Retrieved from:
http://www.mea.mpisoc.mpg.de/uploads/user_mea_discussionpapers/ tveu7lm3e66xcza4_
DPNr37.pdf.
Bosworth, B. & Weaver, R.K. (2011), Social Security On Auto-Pilot: International Experience
With Automatic Stabilizer Mechanisms, CRR WP 2011-18. Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts:
Center of Retirement Research at Boston College. Retrieved from: http://hdl.handle.
net/2345/bc-ir:104838.
Brooks, S.M. & Weaver, K. (2003), Lashed to the Mast? The politics of NDC Pension Reform. In
R. Holzmann and E. Palmer (eds.) Pension Reform, Issues and Prospects for non-financial
defined contribution skims. Washington DC: The World Bank.
Capretta, J.C. (2007), The Political Economy of State-Based Pensions: A Focus on Innovative
Reforms. European Papers on the New Welfare, No. 8, September 2007, 8-16.
Clarke, J. Newman, J. (2012), The alchemy of austerity, Critical Social Policy, vol.32/3
D’Addio, A.C. & Whitehouse, E. (2012), Towards Financial Sustainability of Pension Systems:
The Role of Automatic-Adjustment Mechanisms in OECD and EU Countries, OECD Social
Policy Division, Forschungsbericht, 8/12.
European Commission (2017), The 2018 Ageing Report Underlying Assumptions & Projection
Methodologies. Institutional Paper 065, November 2017.
Fernandez, J.J. (2012), Explaining the introduction of automatic pension indexation provisions
in 17 OECD countries, 1945-2000. Journal of European Social Policy, 22 (3),241-258.
Gannon, F., Legros, F. &Touzé, V. (2014), Automatic Adjustment Mechanisms and Budget
Balancing of Pension Schemes. OFCE Working paper 2014-24 (December 2014). Paris:
Sciences Po. International Office.
Hohnerlein, E. M. (2019), Pension indexation for retirees revisited- normative patterns and legal
standards, Global Social Policy, 19 (3), 246-265.
Holzmann, R., Palmer E. & Robalino D. (eds) (2013), Non-financial Defined Contribution Pension
Schemes in a Changing Pension World, Progress, Lessons, and Implementation Vol. 1.
Washington DC: The World Bank.
Konberg, B., Palmer, E. & Sunden, A. (2006), The NDC Reform in Sweden: The 1994
Legislationto the Present. #$% R. Holzmann & E. Palmer (eds.), Pension Reform: Issues and
prospects for Non-Financial Defined Contribution (NDC) Schemes. Washington, DC: World
Bank. 449-466.
Korpi, W. (2001), Contentious Institutions: An Augmented Rational-Action Analysis of the
Origins and Path Dependency of Welfare State Institutions in the Western Countries,
Rationality and Society, 13 (2), 235-283.
Leventi, C. & Matsaganis, M. (2020), Disentangling annuities and transfers: the case of Greek
retirement benefits, European Journal of Social Security, vol. 1/19.
Lundberg, U. (2009), The Democratic Deficit of Pension Reform: The Case of Sweden. In
Petersen, J. H. & Petersen, K. (eds) (2009), The Politics of Age: Basic Pension Systems in a
Comparative and Historical Perspective. Peter Lang.
Marier, P. (2008), Pension Politics: consensus and social conflict in ageing societies, Routledge/
EUI studies in the political Economy of Welfare.
Matsanganis, M. (2011), Social policy in difficult times: Economic crisis, fiscal austerity and
social protection. Athens: Kritiki.
Mitropoulos, A. (2018), Labor Relations and Social Security in modern Greece: Labor
Deregulation and the Future of Pensions, the new social insurance landscape. Athens:
Livani, 2nd edition.
National Actuarial Authority, (2019), Greek pension system fiche, Athens, September.
National Actuarial Authority, (2020), Actuarial report of the pension system, main and auxiliary,
Actuarial Projections 2018-2070, Athens, February.
Nektarios, M., Tinios, P., Simeonidis, G., (2018), Pensions for young people. A developmental
system of social insurance, Athens: Papazisi.
OECD (2012), Pensions Outlook 2012, OECD Publishing.
OECD (2019), Pensions at a Glance. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from: https://www.oecdilibrary.
org/finance-and-investment/oecd-pensions-at-a-glance_19991363.
Palier, B. (2005), Gouverner la sécurité sociale. Paris : Presses Universitaires de France.
Palmer, E. (2003), What is NDC. In Holzmann & Palmer (eds), Pension Reform: Issues and
Prospects for non-financial defined contribution schemes. Washington DC: The World Bank.
Petmesidou, M. Glatzer, M. (2015), The crisis imperative, reform dynamics and rescaling in
Greece and Portugal, European Journal of Social Security, Volume 17, No. 2
Queisser, M. & Whitehouse E. (2006), Neutral or fair? Actuarial concepts and pension-system
design. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 40.
Report of the Committee of Department of Work and Social Insurance, (2015), Towards a new
social contract for pensions. Department of Work and Social Insurance, October.
Robolis, S. (2012), Economic crisis and social state: From the welfare state to the charity state.
Thessaloniki: Epikentro.
Sakamoto, J. (2008), Roles of the social security pension schemes and the minimum benefit level
under the automatic balancing mechanism, NRI Paper.
Sakamoto, J. (2013), Automatic balancing mechanisms, PPBS colloquium in Lyon 24-27 June.
Sakellaropoulos, T., (2012), Debt Crisis and the Welfare State in Greece Global Dialogue, 2012.
Schoyen M, & Stamati F. (2013), The political sustainability of the NDC pension model: the
cases of Sweden and Italy. European Journal of Social Security, 15(1), σελ.79-101.
Stergiou, A. & Sakellaropoulos, T. (eds.) (2010), The social insurance reform: Report,
presentations, articles. Athens: Dionikos.
Stergiou, A. (1994), The constitutional guarantee of social security. Athens: Sakkoulas.
Stergiou, A. (2015), The reform of the social insurance system under the pressure of the
memoranda. Review of Social Insurance Law, 57, 255-270.
Stergiou, A. (2016), Crisis in public debt and social insurance. In S. Flogaitis, P. Lazaratos, S.
Vlachopoulos, T. Antoniou, P. Paparrigopoulou & P.-M. Evstratiou (Editorial Committee),
Volume in honour of Kostantinos Kremalis: Current issues in social welfare law (pp. 79-98).
Athens: Nomiki Vivliothiki.
Sundén, A. (2009), The Swedish Pension System and the Economic Crisis, Issues in Brief ib2009-
-25, Center for Retirement Research, revised Dec 2009.
Supiot, A. (2015), La gouvernance par les nombres, Cours au College de France (2012-2014).
Paris: Fayard.
Tinios, P., (2010), Ασφαλιστικό. Μια μέθοδος ανάγνωσης. Athens: Κριτική. [Social insurance. A
reading method. Athens: Kritiki.
Turner, J. (2009), Social security financing: Automatic adjustments to restore solvency, AARP
Public policy institute Research report, February.
Venieris, D. (2013), “Crisis Social Policy and Social Justice: the case for Greece”, Hellenic
Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe, GreeSE Paper No.69 April 2013.
Vording, H. Goudswaard, K. (1997), Indexation of public pension benefits on a legal basis:
Some experiences in European countries, International Social Security Review, vol. 50/3
Weaver K. & Willen A. (2014), The Swedish pension system after twenty years: mid-course
corrections and lessons, OECD, Journal on Budgeting, vol. 13/3.
Weaver, K. (1988), Automatic Government: The Politics of Indexation, Washington: Brookings
Institution.
Weaver, K.R. (2016), Privileging Policy Change? Sustaining automatic stabilizing mechanisms in
Public Pension, Social Policy & Administration, 50 (2), 148-164.
Wisensale, K. (2013), Grandma’s assets: The case of intergenerational transfers, Journal of
International case analysis, vol. 4/2, 1-7.
Zambelis, P. (2013), The new way of calculating ETEA auxiliary pensions and the lump sum
payments of the insurance funds and welfare bodies. Review of Social Insurance Law, 55,
-38.