About us

Who we are

The Coller Pensions Institute is an independent, non-profit pension action tank. While the need for pension reform is often only seen as a challenge, we believe it also brings unique opportunities.

Our mission is to develop and implement innovative policies to expand pension coverage, promote sustainable economic growth and reduce old-age poverty.

The Challenge, and the Opportunity

The number of people aged 65 and over worldwide is set to nearly double between 2023 and 2050, when 1 in 6 people worldwide is projected to be in this age group. While ageing is a global phenomenon, its implications are different across countries.

Population ageing will be fastest in the emerging and developing world, where still relatively few people are contributing to a pension scheme. Only 7.3% of the labour force in low-income countries contributes to a pension scheme, compared to 90.8% in high-income countries, according to the International Labour Organization. Extending pension coverage will depend on developing innovative solutions to include the large number of informal workers in developing countries. In high-income countries, pension schemes have to adapt to a shrinking working-age population and a rise in non-traditional forms of work such as self-employment and contractual work.

The Coller Pensions Institute is dedicated to finding solutions to these global challenges by promoting the wider use of well-designed pension systems. We believe that robust pension schemes do not just deliver income in retirement; they promote financial inclusion, financial resilience, and sustainable economic growth.

Our Approach

As an action tank, we see the unique opportunities that pension reform can bring. We distinguish ourselves by not only designing pension policies but also by working hand-in-hand with partners from policy, industry, and academia to implement these policies effectively.

To fulfil our mission, we:

Conduct Rigorous Research: We undertake and publish thorough research on pension issues based on scientific findings and empirical analysis.
Develop Policy recommendations: We produce innovative and targeted policy proposals grounded in our research findings.
Support Implementation: We collaborate with partners from policy, industry and academia to make these proposals come to life.

The Challenge

The world is experiencing profound demographic shifts. The United Nations projects that the number of people aged 65 or more will nearly double between 2023 and 2050, reaching close to 1.6 billion. By 2050, one in six people worldwide will be in this age group, compared to one in ten in 2023.

This ageing is not uniform. While high-income countries already face the pressures of older populations and longer working lives, the fastest growth in the elderly population is happening in low- and middle-income countries. Between 2023 and 2050, the elderly population is projected to more than double in Africa, Asia and Latin America, while growing between 34% and 77% in Europe, North America and Oceania.

These demographic trends underscore the critical importance of robust pension policies, but today, pension coverage is lacking in large parts of the world. The International Labour Organization estimates that in 2023, 90.8% of the labour force in high-income countries contributed to a pension scheme, but only 32.7% and 7.3% contributed in lower-middle-income and low-income countries, respectively.

Developing countries are facing rapid ageing and low pension coverage, making the need for pension reform urgent. New solutions are needed to expand pension coverage in countries with a high share of informal work. Informal work dominates employment in many developing countries—89% in low-income and 82% in lower-middle-income economies. As these demographic and labour market trends converge, the risk of old-age poverty is increasing, particularly where the window for setting up sustainable pension systems is rapidly closing. Countries need to act now.

High-income countries, more advanced in the demographic transition, need to reform their pension systems to ensure a secure retirement for a growing share of the elderly in their populations. At the same time, pension systems have to evolve to respond to the rise of non-standard and gig work, self-employment, and longer working lives.

At the Coller Pensions Institute, we view pension reform as a global challenge—and a global opportunity. Well-designed pensions don’t just deliver income in retirement; they promote inclusive growth, financial resilience, and sustainable development.