Pensions at a Glance Asia-Pacific 2011

National pension provision in Asia/Pacific is very diverse. Nine economies have public schemes that pay earnings-related pensions. They are called “defined-benefit” (DB) schemes because the value of the pension is defined relative to individual earnings. The next most common kind of scheme is again publicly managed, but benefits depend on the amount contributed and the investment returns earned. These are known as “defined contribution” (DC) schemes. Two economies also have defined-contribution pensions, but managed by the private sector. Finally, New Zealand does not have compulsory pension contributions, but instead pays a flat-rate benefit to all retirees. This diversity makes it hard to compare pension systems between economies and evaluate their performance.