The system of national accounts includes a lot of information on pension liabilities and entitlements, but does not provide a comprehensive overview. Whereas it recognises entitlements and corresponding liabilities related to employment-related pension schemes (often referred to as second pillar schemes) and individual pension schemes (often referred to as third pillar schemes), it does not include entitlements and liabilities related to social security pension schemes (often referred to as first pillar schemes). The 2008 SNA introduced a supplementary table on social insurance pension schemes (2008 SNA, Table 17.10) to provide a comprehensive overview of liabilities of all social insurance pension schemes in an economy. The OECD table on social insurance pension schemes reflects this new table. In addition to reflecting the pension liabilities of all social insurance pension schemes in an economy, it also covers the corresponding entitlements as seen from the viewpoint of (resident and non-resident) households, also including social insurance pension entitlements of resident households accrued abroad.
The results in the table are presented on an “accrued to date” basis which reflects the amount of money needed by the pension system at the recording date to meet its future commitments. The estimation takes into account the pension benefits that would have to be paid in the future to people who have already retired and to people of working age, but only with respect to the benefits they are entitled to, based on the contributions they have made to date. This new table is thus a useful complement to existing data on household wealth. However, as future flows of pension contributions as well as possible changes in the pension system are disregarded, these data are not suitable for measuring the sustainability of public finances.
Social insurance pension scheme database
For further information, contact the OECD Statistics Directorate at stat.contact@oecd.org
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