Course content

The aim of the course is to teach students fundamentals on organizational, financial and regulatory aspects of various forms of public and private pension schemes and make them understand how they are conditioned by historical, economic, technological, demographic and socio-political conditions. Students will learn to identify the main features, problems and risks within a particular type of a pension schemes, as well as within a pension system as a whole. They will be able to evaluate the potential effects of the reform solutions, regarding the social aim and the evaluation criteria (pension adequacy and affordability, system’s sustainability, fairness and predictability). They will also learn EU sources of law relevant for pensions.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course students should be able to:

  • Define the basic terms and internationally accepted terminology for pension schemes

  • Explain main factors influencing the development and reform of pension schemes

  • Differentiate various types of pension entitlements and factors that influence pension benefit amount

  • Identify the main problems in the functioning of particular pension schemes

  • Compare pension systems of individual countries and their parts with regard to social objectives, normative regulation, organizational structure, personal coverage, sources and methods of financing, risks, costs of the system and the level of benefits

  • Describe personal scope and scope of rights provided by EU sorces of law relevant for pensions

Teaching methods:

  • Lectures and discussions

Student obligations and assessment: 

  • Regular class attendance and reading materials before each class (available within Merlin – moodle learning platform)
  • Writing student paper and passing oral exam
  • Students should write a student paper regarding their country’s pension system as a form of learning assignment. The paper should progress throughout the course; that is, every new segment in student paper should correspond to every new lesson in the course. Student papers are expected to be 10-15 pages long (more information within Merlin – moodle learning platform).