Actions in Pensions
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Support to Universal Pension Scheme
- Start activities
- may-2015
- End activities
- feb-2017
- Partner Institution
- Ministry of Empowerment, Social Welfare, Youth, Women and Children (MoESWYWC)
- Type of Assistance
- Institutional Strengthening
- Code
- 2014-26
- Description
- The action was instrumental to present to the Ministry of Empowerment, Social Welfare, Youth, Women and Children of Zanzibar a relevant European experience in establishing and managing Universal Social Pensions. Experts from Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain provided technical advice on what is affordable for Zanzibar in relation to its policy, fiscal, and demographic environment. They particularly focused on the information management system needed to deploy a social pensions scheme. They helped to draft an implementation plan, then supported the development of a project proposal and the technical specifications needed to develop a management information system.
Follow up support to the reform of the pension system in Mexico
- Start activities
- Feb-16
- End activities
- May-17
- Partner Institution
- Institute of Social Security of the State of Guanajuato (ISSEG)
- Type of Assistance
- Policy development
- Code
- 2015-24
- Description
- In response to a request of from the Institute of Social Security of the State of Guanajuato (ISSEG), this action started the process of constitution of a national platform of social security State Institutes, with the objective of setting up a framework for cooperation and information-sharing among State Institutes. Spanish experts supported ISSEG in finalizing a declaration for the creation of a National Pension forum, to be delivered to the 16th edition of the National Social Security Conference. Experts also advised ISSEG and other State Institutes on the specific stages required for establishing a National coordination body, including the elaboration of the constituent documents and the legal framework of a national platform (which will become the Organización Nacional de los Institutos Estatales de Seguridad Social - ONIESS).
Training on the pension systems and a capacity development needs assessment
- Start activities
- jun-2014
- End activities
- jun-2014
- Partner Institution
- National Pensions and Occupational Risks Office
- Type of Assistance
- Individual capacity building (human resources development)
- Code
- 2014-02
- Description
- The National Office for Pensions and Occupational Risk (ONPR) for civil servants, magistrates and judicial personnel implements contributory pensions, vocational hazards and associated benefit social insurance in Burundi since 2010. The ONPR faced challenges of efficiently managing increasing expansion of the scheme including at organisational level. To address these challenges, experts mobilised by SOCIEUX+ worked with their peers on the elaboration of an internal management strategy, the establishment of monitoring and control procedures, and the improvement of quality assurance mechanisms. The staff of ONPR, and other stake holding institutions in the area of pension, was to be trained key concepts of social protection to widen their understanding of the functioning of pension systems. Further, the intervention assessed and formulated recommendation on how to best respond to identified needs of the partner institutions for the efficient and effective management of the pension scheme.
Supporting contributory pensions coverage extension, investment management and administration
- Start activities
- End activities
- aug-2014
- Partner Institution
- Institute of Social Security of the State of Guanajuato [Instituto de Seguridad Social del Estado de Guanajuato]
- Type of Assistance
- Organisational capacity building
- Code
- 2014-04
- Description
- The Institute of Social Security of the State of Guanajuato (ISSEG) is responsible for providing insurance benefits to the formal sector [public employees and civil servants] in the Mexican State of Guanajuato. The amounts of pensions originally guaranteed by the ISSEG were pre-defined as a percentage of the affiliate’s wage at time of compliance of retirement criteria. The underlying solidarity fund is financed by contributions of workers and employers, as well as the returns generated by investments. Due to the challenges in funding the existing system, the ISSEG was considering reforms to set benefits on actual historical contributions. Mobilised experts contributed in building capacities of the ISSEG for planned reforms by addressing issues with their peers in policy definition and administrative requirement definition by sharing EU Member States and common experience in making pension schemes affordable in the face of changing economic, policy and demographic environments. In particular, they transferred understanding on legal, actuarial and financial implications of the implementation of the proposed reforms.
Support to non – and contributory pensions
- Start activities
- jun-2015
- End activities
- nov-2015
- Partner Institution
- Institute of Social Security of the State of Guanajuato [Instituto de Seguridad Social del Estado de Guanajuato]
- Type of Assistance
- Policy development
- Code
- 2014-25
- Description
- Follow-up from action 2014-04 This action built on these achievements of the first action with the ISSEG, and allowed European experts and their Mexican peers to formulate practical recommendations for the coordinated development at federal level of state pension funds. Exchanges addressed in particular legal, actuarial and administrative aspects. ISSEG’s experience and leadership was first presented to two Mexican States pension funds, which was a significant step to boost state-level coordination and cooperation. The final action’s activity was a National Inter-State Pensions Conference which brought together all state funds of Mexico. The first conclusion reached by consensus during the conference was the need to work towards establishing a new framework law, which contains general principles aimed at guaranteeing a "decent" and coordinated pension system for all Mexicans and which is disassociated from salaries.
Support to the organisation of a pension forum
- Start activities
- jul-2016
- End activities
- jul-2016
- Partner Institution
- Inter-African Conference on Social Welfare [Conférence Interafricaine de la Prévoyance Sociale]
- Type of Assistance
- Organisational management (structures & functions)
- Code
- 2015-20
- Description
- The Inter-African Conference for Social Welfare (CIPRES) is a regional organisation of fifteen Western and Central African countries created by the Ministries in charge of finances and social affairs in 1993. It formulates common management guidelines for social protection institutions. It also conducts studies, formulates harmonisation proposals on legislations, and facilitates training of managerial and technical staff at the regional level. As part of its thematic responabilities, the CIPRES also responds to the needs of its members for innovative and coherent mechanisms for reforms which will guarantee financial sustainability of pensions. For this purpose, CIPRES decided to organise a a regional pension forum to discuss the future of pensions systems, and to initiate a reflection and an exchange about best possible solutions for mitigating financial risks. European experts mobilised by SOCIEUX participated in the three-day Forum on Pensions for the CIPRES Region, which took place in Abidjan, Cameroon, end of July 2016. They were speakers on European best practices, and participated as resource persons in the debates of the panels on financing of pension systems and policies for the placement of reserve funds, and on perspectives of pension funds for the civil service/public sector, and factors for their viability.
