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The Actuarial Balance Sheet for Pay-As-You-Go Finance: Solvency Indicators for Spain and Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • María del Carmen Boado-Penas
  • Salvador Valdés-Prieto
  • Carlos Vidal-Meliá

Abstract

This paper provides the first estimate of the actuarial balance of the Spanish contributory pension system for the old-age contingency, based on official data. The main accounting entries are developed from the principles of double-entry bookkeeping. The novel entry in the balance sheet, entitled the 'contribution asset' or 'hidden asset', is at the centre of the theoretical discussion. A comparison between the official balance sheet for the Swedish notional account system and our balance sheet for the Spanish contributory pension system is also provided. The main finding is that the Spanish pension system has an insolvency rate of 31.4 per cent. The policy implication is that unless current legislation is reformed, Spanish taxpayers (the plan sponsor) should count on making transfers to the pension system with a present discounted value of 31.4 per cent of current liabilities. Moreover, a comparison of the consecutive balance sheets for 2001-06 shows that the degree of insolvency is growing over time, even though the cash-flow outcome has improved over the same period. Taking steps to reverse this trend and restore solvency is in Spanish taxpayers' interest, and possibly also in the interest of those in the European Union who recognise that there is a chance that they may have to support the Spanish budget in the future. Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors.

Suggested Citation

  • María del Carmen Boado-Penas & Salvador Valdés-Prieto & Carlos Vidal-Meliá, 2008. "The Actuarial Balance Sheet for Pay-As-You-Go Finance: Solvency Indicators for Spain and Sweden," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 89-134, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:29:y:2008:i:1:p:89-134
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Vidal-Meliá & Manuel Ventura-Marco & Juan Manuel Pérez-Salamero González, 2018. "Actuarial accounting for a notional defined contribution scheme combining retirement and longterm care benefits," Documentos de Trabajo del ICAE 2018-16, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico.
    2. Metzger, Christoph, 2016. "Accounting of pay-as-you-go pension schemes using accrued-to-date liabilities: An example for Switzerland," FZG Discussion Papers 59, University of Freiburg, Research Center for Generational Contracts (FZG).
    3. Carlos Vidal-Meliá & Mar𨁤el Carmen Boado-Penas, 2013. "Compiling the actuarial balance for pay-as-you-go pension systems. Is it better to use the hidden asset or the contribution asset?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(10), pages 1303-1320, April.
    4. Juan Manuel Pérez-Salamero & Marta Regúlez Castillo & Carlos Vidal Meliá, 2016. "Análisis de la representatividad de la MCVL: el caso de las prestaciones del sistema público de pensiones," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 217(2), pages 67-130, June.
    5. María del Carmen Boado-Penas & Ole Settergren & Erland Ekheden & Poontavika Naka, 2019. "Sweden’s Fifteen Years of Communication Efforts," World Bank Publications - Reports 31634, The World Bank Group.
    6. Anne M. Garvey & Manuel Ventura-Marco & Carlos Vidal-Meliá, 2021. "Does the pension system’s income statement really matter? A proposal for an NDC scheme with disability and minimum pension benefits," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 292-310, January.
    7. Metzger, Christoph, 2016. "The German statutory pension scheme: Balance sheet, cross-sectional internal rates of return and implicit tax rates," FZG Discussion Papers 63, University of Freiburg, Research Center for Generational Contracts (FZG).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other

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