Lithuania Pension Reform Triggers Mass Exodus as Savers Cash Out

Lithuania’s decision to allow early access to retirement cash resulted in about half a million of 1.4 million people opting out of a pension-saving scheme in the first quarter, suggesting a potential spending spree ahead.

Mandatory privately managed pension funds lost as much as 40% of their volume during the first three months this year after the government permitted participants to request withdrawals from January, according to the Baltic nation’s investment and pension fund association.