SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PENSION SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Abstract

The pension system is a very important part of every national economy, not only economically, but also socially and financially. It is known that the first pension in Serbia was paid back in 1833. by Milos Obrenovic, so it would be rightly expected that today, after almost 190 years, that there is a stable public pension system that provides security for today’s and future retirees. It should be noted that in Serbia there is a fear among the population related to private pension funds, known in the literature as the third pillar of pension insurance. Fear is a product of insufficient financial literacy and awareness, on the one hand, but also of the decades-long term to which this insurance applies, on the other. The problem of the existing public pension system, which is referred to in the literature as „pay and go”, and is also known in practice under the pseudonym „flow boiler”, is its unsustainability. Back in the days when a contribution-based insurance system was being developed in Germany, Bismarck envisaged the limit to which the system could operate. This system is suitable for emerging economies and demographics for the benefit of the young population, that is, as long as the number of employees and retirees is 4:1. Difficulties arise when the ratio of employees to retirees is 3:1. The official ratio of employees and pensioners in Serbia is 1.2:1, indicating that a collapse is inevitable.