Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ESS – Extension of Social Security Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan Elena Maltseva Saltanat Janenova ESS – Working Paper No. 67 Social Protection Department INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE, GENEVA Copyright © International Labour Organization 2018 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with a reproduction rights organization may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. ISSN 1020-9581; 1020-959X (web pdf) The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. Information on ILO publications and digital products can be found at: www.ilo.org/publns. The editor of the series is the Director of the Social Protection Department, ILO. For more information on the series, or to submit a paper, please contact: Isabel Ortiz, Director Social Protection Department International Labour Organization 4 Route des Morillons CH-1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland Tel. +41.22.799.6226 • Fax: +41.22.799.79.62 Printed in Switzerland Abstract This paper documents the reversal of pension privatization and the reforms that took place in the 1990s and 2000s in Kazakhstan. The report analyses the political economy of different reform proposals, and the characteristics of the new pension system, including laws enacted, coverage, benefit adequacy, financing and contribution rates, governance and social security administration, social dialogue, positive impacts and other key issues of Kazakhstan’s pension system. JEL Classification: I3, H53, H55, J14, J26 Keywords: pension privatization, pension reform, social security policy Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan iii Contents Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... vii Authors ............................................................................................................................................. vii Acronyms .......................................................................................................................................... ix Summary of Reforms related to Pension Privatization and its Reversal .......................................... xi 1. Introduction: Kazakhstan’s pension system in transition ........................................................ 1 2. Kazakhstan’s pension system before 2013 ............................................................................. 2 Key characteristics of the Soviet pension system ................................................................... 2 The Soviet pension system during the 1990s .......................................................................... 3 Social and demographic processes in Kazakhstan during the 1990s ...................................... 3 The Kazakhstani 1998 pension reform in the context of the post-Soviet economic transition ..... 4 Assessment of the structure and performance of the Kazakhstani privatized pension system ...... 5 3. The 2013 reform: Key characteristics ..................................................................................... 7 Basic characteristics of the new pension system ..................................................................... 7 Legislative and institutional changes and coordination mechanisms ...................................... 9 4. The 2013 reform: How was it done? ....................................................................................... 11 Sequence of reforms and critical details of the implementation process ................................ 11 5. The 2013 pension reform: Major impacts ............................................................................... 13 Fiscal and socioeconomic results of the reform after implementation .................................... 13 References ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Additional bibliography consulted .......................................................................................... 22 List of figures 1. The Impact of the Pension Sector on Kazakhstan’s Economic Performance ......................... 15 List of tables 1. Kazakhstan’s Pension System ................................................................................................. 8 2. The Number of Depositors of Accumulative Pension Funds .................................................. 14 3. The Size of Pension Funds (in bln. tenge), as of September 1, 2015 ...................................... 14 4. Pension Funds of Depositors ................................................................................................... 14 5. Structure of the Investment Portfolio of UPF, as of September 2015 ..................................... 15 Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan v Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Public Social Security Fund for the detailed information and explanation of the Kazakh reforms. Any error is the sole responsibility of the authors. The paper was reviewed by Isabel Ortiz, Director of the ILO Social Protection Department; Fabio Durán Valverde, Head of Public Finance, Actuarial Services and Statistics, Social Protection Department, ILO; Stefan Urban, Social Protection Financing Expert, Social Protection Department, ILO; Veronika Wodsak, Social Security Expert, Social Protection Department, ILO; and, Artiom Sici, former ILO Social Protection Officer, ILO, Moscow. The authors Elena Maltseva is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor, Canada (2014-present). Saltanat Janenova is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan (2013-present). Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan vii Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank AFN Agency for the Regulation and Supervision of Financial Market and Finance Institutions PPFA Private Pension Fund Administrator BSP Basic Social Pension UPF/ENPF Unified National Pension Fund (in Russian, Edinyi Natsional’nyi Pensionnyi Fond) GDP Gross Domestic Product ILO International Labour Organization MSL subsistence minimum NBRK National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan OECD Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development PAYG Pay-as-you-go RK Republic of Kazakhstan SAPF Public Accumulation Pension Fund SOE Public enterprises UPF Government unified pension fund USAID United States Agency for International Development USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics WB World Bank Reversing Pension Privatization in Kazakhstan ix Summary of Reforms related to Pension Privatization and its Reversal 1998 The pension system following the 1998 privatization: 1st Pillar: mandatory funded and privately-managed, defined-contribution pension system based on individual accounts 2nd supplementary occupational pension plans. 3nd Pillar: voluntary pension system (also funded and privately managed) to provide for additional savings and insurance. The solidarity pension (0 Pillar) was phased out as people in the pre-1998 pension system retire. 2004 Introduction of the social security rate. It is charged to companies and covers social programs including pension, healthcare, and many other benefits. The rate averaged 26.6 per cent since 2004 and is now at 11 per cent (July 2018). 2005 Introduction of the unconditional, universal Basic Social Pension (BPP). (Reformed in 2017). 2013 Reversal of the privatization and rebuilding a public pension system: Law No. 105-V ZRK of 21 June 2013 «On Pensions in the Republic of Kazakhstan» The new model: 0 Pillar: Basic Social Pension (BPP) (unconditional, universal pension payment) 1st Pillar: Fully-funded, individual-account, defined-contribution pension (mandatory – managed by the new public Unified Pension Fund (UPF); 2nd Pillar Occupational pension (high-risk employment). Plus a Solidarity pension PAYG paid by the government to citizens employed no less than six months