At the same time, over the period from 1998 to 2012, the number of hired employees, i.e. those taxpayers whose paid taxes must cover pension outlays, decreased from 724,000 to 662,000.
All these data prove once again that the social liabilities of the state are a heavy burden which constantly increases under the system of existing relations and legislative decisions. The amount of monetary resources directed towards ensuring pensions increases from year to year; the proof of that is yet another increase in budgetary means earmarked for ensuring pensions topped up from September 2013. Consequently, monies spent on pensions will increase again, thereby automatically enhancing the pressure on the sector of public finances. As a result, the likelihood that Georgia, alike many European countries, will find itself in a situation when monies to cover liabilities towards age pensioners permanently increase, is high. This poses a threat of crisis emerging in the system of public finances.
Consequently, it is of utmost importance for the state to cooperate with the private sector and distribute risks with all those sectors where this is possible in reality. Thus, the implementation of the pension reform is not only politically and economically expedient but it is the necessity prompted by an extremely grave situation.
Means issued to pensioners today are very small and cannot be even really called pensions; they are more like social allowances. Moreover, they do not actually consider the pension contributions which current pensioners made during their employment; nor do they consider the length of their employment and content of their job (according to most recent data, only 335 pensioners in Georgia receive pensions in accordance with their work experience).
The existing pension system poses many problems to financial sustainability of Georgia and prospects of its development. At the same time, this is not only a current problem but it will remain pressing in many years to come, will permanently worsen and as a result, will significantly impede the economic development of the country and create new social problems. One should also take into account that positive results of the pension reform will not be immediate but will be felt by the country after a certain period of time, Therefore, it is important that the pension reform starts as soon as possible. Consequently, the need for establishing a real pension system which must be based on the savings scheme is on the agenda now.
In case of retirement savings scheme, people make savings during their employment period and those savings will be used for them after they reach the retirement age. In contrast to distributive scheme, which rests on the principle of solidarity among generations, the retirement savings system implies an individual responsibility in ensuring a dignified old age. It is also worth noting that the retirement savings system is organic for the countries with liberal economy and thus, fully fits into Georgia’s context.
For a pension system reform to be planned and implemented successfully in Georgia, it is necessary to formulate key goals and directions of the reform, define terms and costs of its implementation as well as results in both shorter and longer term perspectives.
In this regard, it is crucial to analyze international experience, especially, to study pensions systems and success stories of those countries which are close to Georgia by various indicators (development level, economic structure, population size, et cetera) and consider the possibility of importing them. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the practice of those countries which may starkly differ from the starting position of Georgia, but have significant innovations and successes in operating pension systems (for example, the USA, France, Chile, Latvia, Kazakhstan).
The study of international experience will allow us to better analyze problems in Georgia’s pension system and ways of solving them. This analysis must result in developing an adequate model of reforming the system, which will establish a savings principle, increase the role of private pension schemes and enable to reconsider the place and share of the state pension system anew.
At the same time, it is important to have a deep understanding of all those problems which will emerge in the process of pension system reform (terms and costs of implementation, minimizing risks of transitional period, instruments of investing means accumulated in pension funds and their proper management and supervision, et cetera).
At the same time, it is necessary to outline and communicate to public all those positive results which the development of non-public pension system will bring to not only the Georgian pension system but the economy as a whole. This implies the emergence of new financial and investment resources as well as increase in and long term availability of these resources.