Towards estimating India's implicit pension debt on account of civil service employees   Authors : Gautam Bhardwaj and Surendra A. Dave (2005)   Download PDF (Filesize: 131 kb ) Promises by the State about payment of pension in the future are much like debt. For the purpose of fiscal planning, and analysis of pension reforms, it is important to compute the "implicit pension debt" (IPD) of the country. India's IPD comes about through workers and pensioners of centre, states and defence forces, and the funding gap of the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS). This paper offers estimates of the IPD owing to three components: central (civil) employees, state government employees and the funding gap of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995. The IPD associated with these three, as of 2004, works out to Rs.2,003,405 crore or 64.51% of GDP. This is a substantial number when compared with the explicit internal public debt of the government of India at 84.86% of GDP (2004-05).

Employer Pensions in India : Status and Reform Agenda   Authors : Manish Sabharwal, Madhu D. and Amit Gopal (2002)   Download PDF (Filesize: 395 kb ) This paper was commissioned by IIEF in 2001 and deals with the issue of reforming of the Provident Funds in India. The Authors suggest that sequencing reform in this area is key and shifting investment reform to the next phase may be pragmatic. The paper also details out a number of tactical and administrative issues related to occupational pensions. The paper emphasizes that most of these issues will be resolved very efficiently as soon as a clear and independent regulatory framework is put in place.

Issues in Rethinking Income Security in Old Age in India   Author : Brian Arrighi (2000)   Download PDF (Filesize: 129 kb ) The paper provides a brief review of the pensions model adopted by the UK for comparison with the Indian context. The Author undertakes a critical evaluation of each of the key policy proposals outlined in the Project OASIS Report.

Equity Investment in Pension Asset Management in India   Author : Susan Thomas   Download PDF (Filesize: 133 kb ) This paper measures the performance of investment strategies on multi decade horizons, using probability distributions of prices and returns from India 's experience over the last twenty years. The author finds that the terminal wealth which can be accumulated using equity investment is much larger than that obtained by investing in government bonds. The paper also measure the 'shortfall risk', the risk that the all-equity strategy might under perform when compared with the all-bonds strategy, and find that the shortfall probability is fairly small. In addition, the paper also explore some of the implications of international diversification of equity investments for pension investment.

India 's Pension System: A Critique and an Agenda for Reforms   Author : Basudeb Sen (1999)   Download PDF (Filesize: 157 kb ) This paper suggests the development and application of certain principles and benchmarks for evaluating the existing pension provisions in India and presents a design of a new pension system for India .

A New Framework for Regulation of Pension and Provident Funds in India   Author : G. V.Nageswara Rao (1999)   Download PDF (Filesize: 161 kb ) This paper concerns itself with the redesign of the second pillar in India . It reviews the present structure, particularly the regulatory framework, governing provident and pension funds in India . It further attempts to present a new institutional structure and regulatory framework for pension and provident funds in India .

Central Civil Service Pensions   Author : S. N. Mathur (1999)   Download PDF (Filesize: 92 kb ) This paper provides an outline of the pension benefits for central government employees and an estimate of the progressive unfunded pensions liability of the various departments of the central government on this account. It presents some ideas for reform in this area. .

Lessons from the UK Experience in Pension Provision   Author : Brian Arrighi (1999)   Download PDF (Filesize: 123 kb ) This paper provides a description of UK 's pension system and outlines the key lessons from UK 's pension reform. It looks at each of the key (so-called) pillars of pension provision, namely State, occupational and personal pensions in the UK .

Demographics of Aging in India : An Abstract   Author : Pravin Visaria (1998)   Download PDF (Filesize: 160 kb ) The continuing population growth in India during the past 50 years has been accompanied by a marked increase in the number of the aged (persons aged 60 and above). It has led to a widespread concern about their socio-economic situation. The possible role of state-sponsored or non-familial sources of support to enable them to live with self-respect and without undue hardship needs to be explored. This paper attempts to present a comprehensive review of the available data on the subject and highlights the difficulties in obtaining precise estimates of the number of the aged and therefore of their needs.

Evaluation of Existing Schemes of Provident Funds in India   Author : R. S. Kaushik (1998)   Download PDF (Filesize: 186 kb ) This paper provides a perspective on the origin and functioning of the employer-centric provident fund and pension schemes for formal sector workers mandated by the EPFO in India . It also suggests improvements and reforms that can be considered in this area.

Pension Fund Management in India : Issues of Return and Accountability   Author : G. V. Nageswara Rao (1998)   Download PDF (Filesize: 254 kb ) This paper focuses on issues of establishment of systems, structure and a regulatory framework that would promote efficient management of pension funds in India .