Union of the Comoros: Selected Issues

This Selected Issues paper contributes to the ongoing pension reform agenda in Comoros by quantifying the projected financing gap of the pension fund and examining the impact of various reform scenarios using actuarial simulations. The paper presents a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to help improve the system’s long-term sustainability. Building on actuarial analyses in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, this paper assesses the outlook of the Caisse des Retraites des Comores (CRC’s) defined benefit schemes and identifies the key sources of its financial vulnerability, particularly within the civil servants’ scheme. The paper also presents a comprehensive reform strategy aimed at improving the pension system’s sustainability while preserving its essential social protection function. Even under the most comprehensive combination of parametric adjustments, however, the system is projected to continue requiring some level of transitional financing over the medium term. Beyond parametric reforms, the CRC’s transformation will depend on a modernized legal framework, improved governance, and sustained political will. Only under these conditions can the IMF be stabilized, and the country advance its broader social protection agenda, both domestically and internationally.