Notional Defined Contribution Accounts: Neoliberal Ideology and the Political Economy of Pension Reform

摘要

Notional defined contribution (NDC) accounts represent a new model for social security reform that so far has been adopted in seven countries. While NDC schemes remain public, they call for the individual accounts favored by neoliberal policy analysts. NDC schemes would address many of the demographic and fiscal problems threatening pension systems but, depending on the country, could do so in a way that puts low-paid workers and women at greater risk than do the schemes being replaced. NDC systems are often the result of a compromise between different interest groups, typically between neoliberal economic elites on the right and labor unions or pensioners' organizations on the left.