engleski

Pension systems in Croatia and Austria

The sole purpose of this master’s thesis is to determine whether the given hypothesis can be proven or not, i.e. to see if there are more differences or similarities between Croatian and Austrian pension funds and whether the number of members in those pension funds is increasing. In order to have a better understanding of pension funds, the pension systems of both countries have been examined and analysed using reliable sources of financial institutions and guidance from competent personas. Since both countries have their pension roots from the Bismarck system, it was discovered that there are not a lot of diversities when it comes to comparing their core pension characteristics. Both Croatia and Austria are part of the, so-called, three pillar scheme, and both had few pension reforms during the 21st century due to having problems with the increase of the retired population. Reforms mainly affected the pension funds in a way that they either changed the form of funds, added/deducted categories of funds or simply increased the standards and limits for becoming a member. This thesis shows how the pension funds in both countries have been dealing with those changes, whether their performances got better and in what proportions their activities resemble to one another. By the end of the thesis, it will be evident that both countries mostly rely on the Pay-As-You-Go system and that the third voluntary pillar is not yet very popular among the active population. The biggest difference is the currency, since Austria is within the Euro currency zone, whereas Croatia still uses its home currency of Kuna. For that reason, the living standard and incomes in Austria are much higher, meaning, the retirement pensions are much higher as well. Both of the countries are working on reviving the occupational scheme which would disburden the state pillar and offer their citizens higher payments in their working aftermath.

pension system of Croatia, pension system of Austria, pension funds, three pillar scheme, reforms, retirement

nije evidentirano