An international comparison of public and private systems of old age provision

Some countries rely mainly on a public pension system and channel most of the temporal redistribution within a pay-as-you-go system directly towards beneficiaries, usually through mandatory social security contributions. At the other extreme, the public sector may pay out only minimum old-age benefits and requires individuals to accumulate enough capital on their own to buy an annuity at the time of retirement. This study will compare the distribution between public and private old age provision across countries.