This study commissioned by the European Commission to the TARKI Social Research Institute charts out the existing tools and datasets for modelling and monitoring monitor life time earnings and related acquisition of pension rights. It also assesses capacity for future developments.

TARKI Social Research Institute was awarded a contract by the European Commission to prepare a feasibility study on “Monitoring pension developments through micro socio-economic instruments based on individual data sources”. From the onset the project was designed so as to

• Inform on the state of development of instruments used by Member States to monitor life time earnings and related acquisition of pension rights
• Provide descriptions of available tools, such as data sets and models of prospective pension outcomes based on individual data sources
• Identify and characterise tools, in particular where they already exist and where they could be further developed (notably needs for adequate data sources, need for building models).
• Analyse and describe both the administrative and survey data used for the prospective models of pension outcomes across all Member States (where such instruments exist) and elaborate a classification of instruments built to assess future developments of pension benefits, based on individual information
• Characterise the various results available and review them as well as those likely to be derived through such instruments

This design allows the research team to provide a description of the available pension modelling instruments and the datasets behind them for each Member State; to describe the outcomes of these instruments (focusing mostly on Member States applying the most developed tools); and to present an evaluation of similarities and differences between the national models and approaches.