This international comparison of pension plans lends great understanding to the transformation taking place in almost every nation around the world. It covers ten of the twelve countries of the European Union, as well as the United States and Japan. The project is interdisciplinary, covering a number of fields, such as economics, law, actuarial science, sociology, and political science, that contribute to the analysis of retirement income systems. The chapters vary in scope - some are comparative, some are restricted to a single country or to one type of plan in one country. Despite their diversity, the chapters share a common awareness of three aspects of pension plans: the importance of actors' roles in shaping each system, the different economic and social domains affected by retirement plans, and the interconnections between social security and supplementary plans.

This international comparison of pension plans lends great understanding to the transformation taking place in almost every nation around the world.

AcknowledgmentsTablesPreface: Lucy apRoberts and Emmanuel ReynaudActors and Decision MakingIntroduction by Emmanuel ReynaudSupplementary Pensions in the Federal Republic of Germany by Winfried SchMÄhl and Stefan BöhmSupplementary Pensions in the Netherlands by Erik LutjensSupplementary Pensions in Greece by Hélène PetridouSupplementary Pensions in Spain: The Impact of the 1987 Law by Luis J. Ruano RuanoThe Origins of French Supplementary Pension Plans by Bernard FriotTrade Union Involvement in Supplementary Pensions by Bryn DaviesReforms and Systems DynamicsIntroduction by Gerard HughesFinancing Models for Pay-as-You-Go Systems by Emmanuel ReynaudRisk Bearing in Pension Plans by John A. TurnerThe Many Faces of American Union Pension Plans by Teresa GhilarducciRetirement System Reform: Is Italy Moving Toward a Minimal Welfare State? by Ugo AscoliThe Development of Supplementary Pensions in Denmark by Finn ØstrupRetirement and Growing Old: Which Model of Protection? by Bernard Delhausse, Sergio Perelman, and Pierre PestieauThe Labor MarketIntroduction by Bryn DaviesPension Plans and U.S. Labor Market Theories by Lucy apRobertsPension Plans and Labor Market Structure: Evidence from Ireland by Gerard Hughes and Brian NolanLabor Mobility and Supplementary Pensions by Heinz-Dietrich SteinmeyerFinancing The EconomyIntroduction by Lucy apRobertsThe Behavior of British and U.S. Pension Fund Financial Managers by Dorothée Rivaud-DansetPension Funds as Shareholders by Jim StewartPension Funds in the United Kingdom: Centralization and Control by Richard Minns and Ron MartinSelected ReferencesIndex