Publication: Toward an Inclusive, Equitable, and Sustainable National Pension System in Iraq
Loading...
Published
2024-07-22
ISSN
Date
2024-07-22
Editor(s)
Abstract
A pension system is at the heart of social protection. By ensuring income security for older persons and other vulnerable groups, it prevents poverty, reduces inequality, and facilitates consumption smoothing. A pension system also affects the working population’s labor market choices and has important fiscal implications. Iraq’s current pension system is highly fragmented, inequitable, and inefficient. First, it fails to provide adequate income protection to most of Iraq’s old‑age population and other vulnerable groups, such as survivors and persons with disabilities. Second, the public sector pension is already putting substantial pressure on the budget and is potentially unsustainable given the projected acceleration of the total pension bill due to recent policy changes. Third, it sets an uneven playing field between the public and private sectors, contributing to the continued expansion of an already‑outsized civil service and holding back much‑needed economic diversification and private sector growth. Thus, a comprehensive pension reform is urgently needed and would align with commitments made by the Government of Iraq through the ratification of ILO Convention No. 102. Based on collaboration between the IMF, ILO, and the World Bank, this paper aims to (1) Provide an assessment of the existing public and private pension system across the four dimensions: fiscal sustainability, labor market implications, coverage, and adequacy of benefits. (2) Develop and propose options to adjust the pension system with a view to improve adequacy of benefits and expand coverage, enhance financial and fiscal sustainability, make the system viable across generations, reduce distortions in the labor market, and align the system with international social security standards and international best practices. (3) Provide a basis to engage key stakeholders—including workers, employers’ organizations, and the civil society - on strategies to achieve a more inclusive system, importantly by including workers in the informal economy, female workers, workers with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups. The reform proposals presented here provide one possible route to address the most critical shortcomings of the current fragmented system, in line with international standards and good practices. Convergence on the specific reform options and parameters should result from further discussions and dialogue among all relevant stakeholders in Iraq.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“International Monetary Fund (IMF; International Labour Organization (ILO); World Bank. 2024. Toward an Inclusive, Equitable, and Sustainable National Pension System in Iraq. IMF Analytical Note 2024/001. © International Monetary Fund, International Labour Organization, and the World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41926 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Republic of Niger : Towards an Integrated and Sustainable Pension System(Washington, DC, 2009-06-30)This report was prepared at the request of the Government of Niger to: (i) provide a comprehensive assessment of the Nigerien pension system, (ii) analyze current reform initiatives and recommend possible refinements and alternatives, and (iii) examine implementation challenges. To this end, the report develops a set of general guidelines to assess reform options in terms the adequacy of benefits, security, financial sustainability, redistribution, incentives, and administrative efficiency. The core of the report is organized in three chapters. After providing a summary of the background (chapter one), chapter two develops the policy framework and updates the assessment of the mandatory pension systems. The assessment looks at the financial situation of the schemes but also discusses other problems that had been previously overlooked in terms of the adequacy of benefits; the type of redistribution; as well as issues related to incentives. Chapter three reviews Government ongoing reform initiatives, summarizes the international experiences that are relevant to Niger, and, presents recommendations to strengthen current policies by outlining the components of a multi-year reform program, and developing a road map towards implementation.Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program - Albania : Developing Private Pensions in Albania(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-02)This note sets out options to develop private pensions in Albania. It has been requested by the authorities to help create a more diversified pension system that can deliver improved outcomes for Albania in decades to come. A diversified pension system mixes state and private pensions as well as other sources of retirement income. The analysis, diagnosis, and recommendations use an outcome-based assessment framework. This technical note looks at how the pension system performs relative to 5 key outcomes: efficiency, sustainability, coverage, adequacy, and security. These outcomes depend on the political and economic environment in which a pension system operates, and its overall design including regulatory framework, market structure and conduct, and supervisory approach.Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program Update : Republic of Kazakhstan - Investment Opportunities for Pension Funds(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-08)The objective of this note is to put forward policy alternatives that could lead to improved management of pension fund assets in Kazakhstan. This note emphasizes prudence in the management of pension assets, given the social and fiscal importance of the pension sector. It also discusses different investment alternatives and development options for the domestic Kazakhstani capital market. The note aims to be realistic and pragmatic, based on the best professional judgment of the author.1 It is concluded that neither the regulators nor industry participants appear to fully appreciate the risks attached to the practice of focusing on short-term and high yield investments, which exposes pensioners to higher reinvestment and issuer risk. The recommendations are summarized in the last section of this note.Publication India : CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems and Central Counterparties(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-08)The securities and derivatives clearing and settlement systems in India are organized around different types of products, which are (1) government securities, money market instruments and forex instruments; (2) corporate securities and financial derivatives; and (3) commodity derivatives. The scope of this assessment is limited to the clearing and settlement systems for the first two sets of products. The different sets are subject to different legal frameworks, different regulatory arrangements and the clearing and settlement systems are operated by different entities. The different securities and derivatives clearing and settlement systems handle a large number of transactions and are as such of systemic importance. Volumes in the derivatives segments increased strongly during the last years. Given the growth and volumes of the commodity derivatives market it is recommended that a detailed self-assessment by the Forwards Market Commission (FMC) and/or an independent assessment of the commodity derivatives clearing and settlement systems be considered in the immediate future.Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program Update : India - CPSS-IOSCO Recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems and Central Counterparties(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-08)The securities and derivatives clearing and settlement systems in India are organized around different types of products, which are (1) government securities, money market instruments and forex instruments; (2) corporate securities and financial derivatives; and (3) commodity derivatives. The scope of this assessment is limited to the clearing and settlement systems for the first two sets of products. The different sets are subject to different legal frameworks, different regulatory arrangements and the clearing and settlement systems are operated by different entities. The different securities and derivatives clearing and settlement systems handle a large number of transactions and are as such of systemic importance. Volumes in the derivatives segments increased strongly during the last years. Given the growth and volumes of the commodity derivatives market it is recommended that a detailed self-assessment by the Forwards Market Commission (FMC) and/or an independent assessment of the commodity derivatives clearing and settlement systems be considered in the immediate future.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Adaptation of the Calculator of Social and Environmental Impacts from Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Amazon(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-09)Over the past decade, illegal gold extraction has increased significantly in the Amazon region, partly due to the high international prices of this mineral, the less stringent attitude of some countries in relation to the environment and the pursuit of immediate economic opportunities. Furthermore, this illicit activity is closely intertwined with other illegal practices, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the trafficking of endangered species. This has repercussions not just for the region's ecological wealth, but also for the physical well-being of those safeguarding their lands and the health of communities living in proximity to the extraction zones due to the contamination of their rivers and, consequently, their primary sources of food, such as fish. Despite the international effort to recognize the socio-environmental repercussions of this activity, there are still gaps on this issue, mainly due to the economic losses that this activity represents.Publication Mobility and Development Periodical, Fall 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-01)The fourth edition of the Mobility and Development periodical presents nine stories of how countries have evolved transport sector innovations, policy reform, and technical solutions to improve the quality of life. Opening with big data readiness for urban transport in Latin America, the narrative zooms out to present the potential of drones in the region. After unpacking the fiscal risks of the transport sector, experts unpack pressing urban mobility challenges. Dhaka offers an example of how critical governance can help metropolitan transit agencies deliver value. Keeping inclusion in focus, the next article shows how effective public transportation can boost economic opportunities for women in Middle East and North Africa. Moving to the Europe and Central Asia region offers a perspective of how improved roads influence jobs in rural Armenia. Travelling to Pakistan, authors discuss how to accelerate electric mobility adoption. The final article shows how an economic corridor approach to harness lithium could transform Argentina’s northwest.Publication Algeria Economic Update, Spring 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-26)This Algeria Economic Update reports on the main recent economic developments and policies. It places them in a global and longer-term context and assesses the implications of these developments and policy changes for Algeria’s economic prospects. The report is intended for a broad audience, including policymakers, business leaders, financial market participants, and the community of analysts and professionals working in/on Algeria. The report is divided into two chapters. Chapter 1 presents macroeconomic developments in Algeria over the year 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, while Chapter 2 describes the short- and medium-term outlook for the Algerian economy.Publication At Your Service?: The Promise of Services-led Growth in Uzbekistan(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-07)In Uzbekistan, the services sector accounts for more than half of all jobs and has been central to the process of structural transformation over the past three decades. In the past decade, the growth of Uzbekistan’s services exports has lagged behind its manufactures' exports while FDI greenfield announcements to both sectors have been even. The growth of the services sector in the past five years was driven by social services, mostly reflecting increased public spending. This report groups the services sector into four categories based on their skill intensity, the extent of their linkages with other sectors, and their tradability in international markets: low-skilled consumer services, low-skilled enabling services , global innovator services. Of these groups, social services accounted for three-fourths of employment growth in the services sector between 2017–2022. These services also experienced relatively high rates of labor productivity growth, which was largely driven by higher public spending on wages and salaries.