Pension Reforms in India

Life expectancy has shot up in recent decades. When public pension systems were first established, people could typically look forward to only a few years of retirement if any. Today, globally, the probability of a newborn boy surviving until age 65 is over 80%; the figure is over 90% for a girl child. Aging populations are “a high-class” problem, said U.S. President Bill Clinton in his 1999 State of the Union address. He continued: “It’s the result of something wonderful: the fact that we are living a lot longer.” Nevertheless, there is no denying that aging populations pose significant challenges for economic, social and health policies in general and pension systems in particular.