April 2024

The Importance of Reviewing the Pension Scheme in Albania. Benefits and Challenges of Applying for Private Pensions in Albania

By Valbona Cinaj  The pension system faces many problems and challenges. Social security in general is the system of social protection in Albania, as in other countries, is influenced by the country's economic power, labor market developments, demographic situation, employment situation and unemployment, GDP growth, macroeconomic stability, etc. These indicators will serve not only as a starting point for the analysis of the system, achievements, and problems, but also the level of these indicators will serve as a starting point...

March 2024

Interview with World Bank Country Manager Emanuel Salinas on the Pension System in Albania

1.  What is the World Bank's evaluation of the current pension program, which was approved in 2015? The 2015 pension reform of Albania was a step in the right direction towards establishing a clearer link between contributions and benefits, while also improving sustainability of the overall system. The change in the defined benefit formula in 2015 meant that individuals who paid more and more frequently into the system will receive higher pension benefits. The gradual increase of the retirement age...

August 2022

Albania. Only wage increases through more productivity can save public pension system, Word Bank says

By Tirana Times The only way to guarantee that Albanians can rely on a public pension in the future is to increase wages through higher productivity, the World Bank says in a recent report. Albania is going through a major demographic transition with high rates of out-migration and the rapid aging of the population, which is making its social insurance system a huge burden on the economy as the contributor/beneficiary ratio continues to deteriorate. In Albania, expenditures in relation to GDP for...

February 2021

Albania. Deficit in State Pension Scheme Deepening

The decit in the state pension scheme reached Dollar 506 million at the end of 2020, reaching the highest level since the start of the implementation of the new reform in this area. Government spending on pensions amounted to Dollar 1.34 billion, 2.2% more than in 2019, while contributions for social security payments fell for the rst time since 2016. Economic experts link this phenomenon to the eects of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many people lost their jobs, and in many...