Simulation and Application of Parametric Corrections to Improve the Financial Misalignment of the Iranian Pension System

Aim and Introduction :

The pension system is of special place in the employment regulations of the private and public sectors of all countries of the world. In addition, pension funds are known as one of the most sensitive and complex financial institutions in today's world, whose main goal is to preserve the livelihood and dignity of people in old age. Pension funds have been created to provide social rights for citizens, and a long-term horizon is one of the main features of such funds. By receiving insurance premiums from the insured and investing the resources gathered in the early years and the so-called youth period of the fund, pension funds provide pensions for retirees during their maturity. The process of maturity of pension funds occurs naturally and if it is accompanied by the aging of the country's population, it will intensify. According to the International Monetary Fund, pension expenditures in the Social Security Organization and the civil serpents' Pension Fund will increase from 5.3% in 2015 to 11% in 2040 and 19.6% of GDP in 2080 and in the future, a large part of the country's budget should be spent on paying pensions.

This study seeks to simulate and apply corrective policies to improve the financial misalignment in the Iranian pension system using dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model based on the overlapping generations (OLG) model. In this regard, impulse response functions were used to examine the effects of the proposed parametric corrections. The DSGE models are stochastic, microeconomic-founded, provide the possibility of dynamic evaluation of parametric changes as well as random changes of exogenous variables of the system, and give inter-temporal optimization of the behavior of economic agents. In addition, the mechanism of intergenerational transfer in the pension funds, can be well evaluated and studied by these models, so it seems to be a suitable tool for studying the effects of demographic parametric changes on the financial balance of pension funds.

The results show that positive shocks to the variables of years of service, birth rate, and average years of insurance, the financial misalignment of pension funds decreases. According to the results, linking the retirement age with life expectancy and increasing the years of premium payment can reduce financial misalignment and increase financial stability in the Iranian pension system.

The government's decision to implement reforms in Iran's pension system is essential, taking into account social considerations and the step-by-step nature of these reforms. However, according to our findings, the following policies should be presented to improve the financial imbalance of Iran's pension system:1. The results of the positive shock analysis to the years of service variable showed that the later retirement of people reduces economic dissatisfaction, and considering the past and projected increase in life expectancy in Iran, increasing the retirement age is justified and logical. According to global experience, the average retirement age should be increased from 60 to 63 years for men and from 55 to 58 years for women (one year for every two years). Also, in the future, it is suggested that the average retirement age be linked to the growth of life expectancy.2. The analysis results of the positive shock to the birth rate variable showed that the young population reduces the financial imbalance. Therefore, it is necessary to implement policies to encourage birth in the coming years, because the population aging phenomenon will have destructive effects on the stability of the pension system.3. A positive shock to the average variable of years of insurance has positive effects on reducing the financial imbalance of pension funds. In this regard, it is suggested to change the calculation of pensions in all pension funds, including state, military, and social security organizations, based on the average salary of the last three to five years of employment, which it is currently based on the average of the previous two years.