Summary (English)

A decade after the major reform in the 1990s, pension systems in the Central and Eastern Europe are now facing imminent challenges under the pressure of the financial consolidation in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. In the long-term, the pension systems need to restore their financial sustainability in the face of rapid and severe demographic changes.

At the national level, each country has taken a different approach to tackle these issues. The publication consolidates the national efforts through case study of eight CEE countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Poland and Romania). The publication reviews the performance of the current pension system in particular during the period of the global economic crisis, and outline, through comparative analysis, possible solutions to the challenges which these countries are facing in common in the short- and long-term. In addition to the issues of benefit adequacy and financial sustainability, particular attentions are paid to the need to fight against undeclared work and the importance of social dialogue in the process of pension reform.