The measurement of international pension obligations – Have we harmonised enough?

In the domain of pension statistics comparability of pension entitlements across countries improved substantially due to new SNA/ESA recommendations. In the near future, inclusion of unfunded employment related pension schemes in the core accounts or in the supplementary table on pensions will become the standard. This paper analyses pension entitlements for twelve OECD-countries according to the new compilation standards. In spite of constructive European harmonisation efforts, the paper identifies a number of measurement differences that may hamper a fair comparison of pension liabilities.
 
Keywords: pensions, pension entitlements, discount rate, national accounts, defined benefit, funding, fair value, public sector pensions, actuarial evaluation.
JEL classification: G23: Non-bank Financial Institutions, H55: Social Security and Public Pensions, H75: Public Pensions.

Working paper no. 424