Social Inclusion during Retirement in Three ex-Yugoslav Countries: Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia Compared.
Guardiancich, I. (2012). Social Inclusion during Retirement in Three ex-Yugoslav Countries: Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia Compared. ERSTE Working Papers. Vienna: ERSTE Foundation, Fellowship for Social Research.
Building upon the research by Meyer et al. (2007), this study employs risk biographies to evaluate how three ex-Yugoslav pension systems cope with the risk of social exclusion for the elderly. The article simulates pension entitlements in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia and comes to two broad conclusions. First, the three pension systems that originate from a common legislative base now radically diverge in almost every aspect. Hence, further research should analyse the entire retirement microcosm of former Yugoslavia and delve deeper into the mechanisms of institutional evolution. Second, the study expounds the pros and cons of the three schemes and argues that none is immune to further reforms. Slovenian public pensions are excessively generous and will consequently require fiscal cuts, the Croatian funded tier is too small to adequately complement lower overall benefits, and Serbian arrangements should be seen as a temporary sacrifice to cope with fiscal austerity. The paper complements a traditional overview of the three systems by analysing the problems of each risk biography. It concludes by giving a number of prescriptive recommendations for the future wellbeing of the elderly in the region.