The Dutch pension system is often praised as one of the best in the world: it is efficient, it provides certainty to participants and it preserves cohesion and solidarity among workers and pensioners. This book presents these benefits in detail, supported by quantitative evidence. It also discusses the aspects of the system that are less favourable, however, such as implicit value transfers from younger to older generations that limit mobility of labour. The analyses of both benefits and costs will help pension fund managers, boards of trustees, supervisors, and researchers to understand and to improve pension systems currently in place around the world. "The Dutch are the globe's thought-leaders in the design and implementation of retirement income systems. This book offers the rest of the world a first-hand opportunity to learn why this is the case" - (Keith Ambachtsheer, Director, Rotman International Centre for Pension Management University of Toronto).