Labour Force Participation and Public Pension System. Changes in the Labour Market and Their Impact on the Pension Dependency Ratio

The discussion on pension reforms concentrates on parametric changes in the pension system. However, any long-term financial sustainability of old-age provision is not solely determined by the pension laws, but is also affected by the economic environment and in particular the labour market. The higher the employment level, the higher will be the number of contributors and the lower the pension dependency ratio. The level of participation therefore is a key factor for sustainability of the pension systems.