Which factors affect the sustainability of pension schemes?

Abstract This article seeks to determine the most influential factors on the sustainability of a pension system. To this end, an empirical analysis was conducted on a sample of 13 countries, with different characteristics, according to three criteria: the size of the pension system's assets, the old‐age dependency ratio and the success of the system according to the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index. The results of this preliminary study show that countries with successful pension systems share a high rate of formal employment, good political stability, high life expectancy at birth, and a good rate of coverage by the pension system.