Radical Pension Reforms after the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Argentina and Greece

Scholarly attention on pension reform following the recent global financial crisis has focused primarily on cases entailing the renationalization of private pension pillars. We argue that radical pension reforms should also include instances of radical retrenchment of public pension pillars. We offer an explanation of such reforms in the aftermath of the crisis by analyzing the reforms adopted in Argentina and Greece since 2008. We demonstrate that highly indebted countries with no access to international financial markets and unsustainable pension systems can introduce radical reforms in response to short-term funding needs rather than long-term adequacy concerns. We argue that the narrow timeframe of the recent reforms raises questions about the sound footing of the new systems which may ultimately not prevent the introduction of further measures. This comparison provides insights to understand recent episodes of radical pension reforms in other countries.