Summary (English)

The current financial crisis raises substantial issues about public and private pension schemes. Indeed, each type of plan has suffered different losses during the crisis, but there are general failures in all cases that call for a redefinition of the current pension system. The financial debacle highlights the shortcomings of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Institutions and governments should take short and medium term measures to ensure the sustainability of pension schemes. This brief description of the different pension schemes, followed by a review of the current economic downturn, is meant to better understand the impact of the crisis on pensions thereby motivating a constructive debate.