José Piñera Honored by International Insurance Society with "Founders Award"

Architect of Chile's privatized pension system "has made a major contribution"

July 19, 1999

José Piñera, co-chairman of the Cato Institute's Project on Social Security Privatization, has received the insurance industry's top honor for his work in creating Chile's successful private pension system and for his efforts in promoting privatization of state-run retirement systems around the world. The International Insurance Society presented Piñera with its Founders Award Gold Medal for Excellence on July 12 at its annual meeting in Berlin, Germany. Ironically, Berlin is the city where German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the world's first state-run, tax-based social security system in the 19th century.

John P. Meyerholz, president and CEO of the International Insurance Society, said that the Chilean system created by Piñera "was a pioneering private system and is now widely studied and copied as a model around the world. That system has proved successful not only for Chileans but has provided significant economic benefits to Chile's economy." The Society noted in a statement that "because it improved the functioning of both the capital and labor markets of Chile, Social Security privatization has been one of the key reforms that has pushed the growth rate of that economy upward from a historical three percent a year to seven percent in the past 12 years. Further, the Chilean savings rate has increased to 25 percent of GNP since reform was undertaken."

Piñera has served as co-chairman of the Cato Project on Social Security Privatization since its launch in August, 1995. He was one of a handful of experts chosen to discuss the issue at a White House conference on Social Security last December and has spoken on the subject all over the world. He also serves as president of the International Center for Pension Reform, based in Santiago, Chile.

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