At the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in 2001, CEOs of our financial service industry member companies concluded there was a need for greater high-level, international attention to be paid to the economic and financial implications of the demographic challenges facing most industrialized countries. Increased life expectancy, the impending retirement of the baby boom generation, and lower fertility in many countries are creating unsustainable pressures on public and private pension systems. While this is a global problem, most of the policy debate has occurred in a national context with too little regard for the broader implications and opportunities for world economic growth and development. In addition, the discussion has largely overlooked the potentially significant distributional implications for living standards within national economies and how these are influenced by different policy choices.

During 2002 and 2003, the Forum's Pension Readiness Initiative, consisting of leaders from our financial services and employment industry member companies and other experts from labor unions, international organizations, senior citizen groups, and governments, decided to compile a comparative assessment of the retirement system readiness of OECD countries for the purpose of focusing high-level public and private attention on the need for greater action. The report was conceived in the belief that a tangible cross-country comparison of policy performance and conditions set in the context of a broader discussion about the stakes for the world economy could help to spur greater understanding and consensus for action.