*{Geneva Business Dialogue Conference Report 
  
23 - 24 September 1998 

Who is going to pay tomorrow’s pensions? [http://www.iccwbo.org/home/conferences/reports/geneva_business_dialogue/who_is_going_to_pay_tomorrow.asp]} 

Countries around the world are facing budget crises arising from the escalating costs of providing for ageing populations – a result of better medical care and higher living standards. Pay-as-you-go pension systems are straining to keep up the intergeneration compact of providing for the elderly. This difficult social issue was debated in the session entitled "The grey crisis: finding a new safety net."

Ben Wattenberg, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, asserted that the world baby boom after the Second World War had been followed by a baby bust or birth dearth. These trends were major factors in the pension crisis. Possible remedies included : 1) immigration—which produces instant working adults and 2) pro-natal policies — the establishment of programmes which make it possible for young couples who want children to afford them.

Donald Johnston, Secretary General of the OECD, outlined economic and employment-related impacts of demographic change. Mr Johnston related OECD’s efforts to develop awareness, not only of the financial issues surrounding solvency of public and private retirement or social security schemes, but also the broader impact on labour markets. To this end, the OECD has examined training and lifelong learning programmes. 

In conclusion, Peter Medgyessy, former Finance Minister of Hungary, related his own experiences learned from Hungary’s recent revamping of the pension system. His remarks concentrated on the practicalities of reforming social security programmes.
 
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