The Euro:

Abstract

In the logical next step along the path to European integration, the European Union is launching its single currency, the "euro," which will make its first appearance on January 1, 1999. This introduction will reverberate across financial markets and industries around the world, and pension fund administrators of multinational organizations will be at the cutting edge of a new financial order. But while one might expect these pension fund administrators to be actively engaged in designing strategies to cope with the potential effects of the euro on pensions and benefits, many are taking a wait-and-see attitude. According to our authors, companies should review their pension administration systems immediately to determine what the euro implies as well as how data should be reported and what structural changes may have to be adopted.