Pensions are a major issue across Europe and the rest of the world.
How pensions should best be provided is one of the questions which dominates election campaigns. Today's typical pension is a basic state one- financed by tax contributions to government and paid out by the government. This method of state provision is now outmoded and causing problems in the unorganized world. More and more countries around the world have more old people as a proportion of their total population. This means fewer working people paying enough taxes to finance state pensions.