On the 125th anniversary of von Bismarck’s creation of the world’s first state pension, Allianz, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and HelpAge International will host a conference assessing the international legacy of the Bismarck pension model and its future. Entitled ‘Thanks, Otto! 125 years of pensions and new global perspectives’, the conference will be held at the Allianz Forum in Berlin, Pariser Platz 6, on October 28-29.
The number of older people worldwide set to rise from 841 million people in 2013 to more than 2 billion in 2050.While some developing nations are extending social protection to their elderly citizens, demographic change is forcing developed nations to consider how to deliver on pension promises without bankrupting the economy.
“The fact that most people in the developed world can expect to receive a pension when they get older is a huge social policy success,” said Professor Volker Deville, demography expert at Allianz, who is hosting the event. “However, one in two older people – mostly in developing nations – still have no pension income. For many, retirement is a luxury they cannot afford.”
The speakers at the event are among others Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Robert Palacios, Co-author of the influential World Bank Report ‘Averting the Old Age Crisis’; Dr. Xenia Scheil-Adlung, Co-author of the ILO World Social Protection Report 2014/2015, Nicholas Barr, professor of Public Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and representatives from Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Tanzania and Vietnam.
