Person:
Holzmann, Robert
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Public Finance,
Pension Strategy
Degrees
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
February 1, 2023
Biography
Robert Holzmann is elected fellow of Austrian Academy
of Sciences and as of September 2019 governor of the
Austrian Central Bank. He held academic positions in
Austria, Australia, Germany and Malaysia, senior
economist positions at OECD and IMF, and senior
management positions at the World Bank where he was
leading the pension strategy work. He has published 37
books and some 200 articles on financial, fiscal and social
policy issues. He has travelled to over 90 countries in the
world.
Publication Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
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Publication
Matching Contributions for Pensions : A Review of International Experience
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013)Establishing robust, equitable, and effective social protection is essential to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity at all levels of development. The demographic transition that has already transformed most high-income societies will exert similar and growing pressures on others, reinforcing the role of pensions and savings for old age as a central pillar of social protection systems. One possible solution that has emerged in recent years that offers the potential to overcome this challenge is the provision of contribution matches to provide an immediate and powerful incentive for participation in pension saving systems. Originating in several high-income settings there are now a number of innovations and substantial experience in low-income countries in using this design to stimulate coverage and savings. This experience now provides a rich opportunity for learning, not just from the longer experience of a few high-income countries but also the more meaningful South-South learning across developing countries.This volume, which reviews the experience with matching pension contributions across the range of countries that have used the design, makes an initial, but critically important investment in this learning process. The description and analysis of this experience which is the product of partnership and collaboration across many public and private institutions provide an invaluable early assessment of the design to inform policy makers and practitioners as well as serve as a model for the kind of cooperation that will be required to address this difficult challenge. At the World Bank, we look forward to being part of this learning process of how to best provide old-age security for all. -
Publication
NDC Schemes and Heterogeneity in Longevity: Proposals for Redesign
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04)A positive relationship between lifetime income and life expectancy leads to a redistribution mechanism when the average cohort life expectancy is applied for annuity calculation. Such a distortion puts into doubt the main features of the NDC (nonfinancial defined contribution) scheme and calls for alternative designs to compensate for the heterogeneity. This paper explores five key mechanisms of compensation: individualized annuities; individualized contribution rates; a two-tier contribution structure with socialized and individual rates; and two supplementary two-tier approaches to deal with the income distribution tails. Using unique American and British data, the analysis indicates that both individualized annuities and two-tier contribution schemes are feasible and effective and thus promising policy options. A de-pooling by gender will be required, however.