En-Route to Greece

Abstract

This chapter is a comparison between one of the most stable, and one of the most precariously managed retirement systems in the world. Both systems grew through the private sector, but their non-parallel trajectories over time offer hints about possible future developments. The system of governing in Greece has garnered little wisdom from financial bankruptcy. The partly unregulated retirement industry of the United States leaves room for en masse asset liquidation. In both systems the transfer of responsibility for pension performance is enabled by non-market-capitalizing mechanisms. The wave of central bank intervention that underpins excessive tail risk-taking combined with lack of fiduciary responsibility, may entice the ultimate liquidation of assets held by retirees, leading to another financial crisis.