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How will Iran take care of its aging population?

Iran has five years to address the underfunding of its pension system or face an economic and budgetary crisis.
An Iranian Shi'ite Kurd rests at a historical site in the city of Sanandaj in Kordistan province, 763 km (477 miles) northwest of Tehran, May 10, 2011. Iranian Shi'ite and Sunni Kurds live in harmony with each other in Sanandaj, although the majority of the people are Sunni.  REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR2M86O
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TEHRAN, Iran — Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, head of the Management and Planning Organization (MPO), warned March 6 that Iran has five years to address the underfunding of its pension system or face a major crisis. It is not the first time this alarm has been sounded.

Concerns about the looming pension crisis first surfaced in the early 2000s. At the request of the MPO, the World Bank prepared an in-depth report in 2003 that recommended “necessary steps” for implementing a reformed pension program. The matter remained unaddressed for more than a decade, however, largely due to macroeconomic mismanagement and the imposition of intensified nuclear-related sanctions between 2010 and 2015.

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