Pension schemes across the world are coming under greater pressure due to low returns on investments and public reluctance to join them, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority N Rangachary said on Thursday.

"The pressure is greater, particularly in developing countries like India, because of low returns on investments and reluctance of members to join these schemes," Rangachary said in his brief opening remarks at the second conference on 'Private Pensions in Asia' in Hyderabad.

The two-day conference is being jointly organised by IRDA, Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Institute of Insurance and Risk Management and International Network for Pension Regulators and Supervisors.

The critical challenges facing the pension systems, teething troubles of the regulators, problems of private pension providers in designing and marketing the products and reforms of occupational pension system and regulatory mechanisms with a particular focus on India are among the issues high on the agenda.

Setting the tone for the two-day deliberations, Rangachary, who is due to retire on June 8, said, "There is a confusion as to whether the pension schemes should be administered by a regulator or the private players be given freedom to devise and implement their schemes."

The IRDA chairman wanted the delegates from Asia Pacific region to ponder over such challenges facing the sector.

Over 40 insurance industry experts representing Australia, England, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Bhutan, Philippines, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Kazakhistan, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan besides India are participating in the conference.

Senior executives of private and government-owned insurance companies will make presentations at the conference spread over seven sessions and share their experiences in implementing pension schemes.

The sessions would focus on issues concerning design and marketing of pension products, regulations governing them and tax incentives.

The conference will also examine supervisory issues involved in regulatory reforms in India and the existing pension system for organised private sector workers as well as for civil servants.

The industry representatives and policy makers will participate in discussions to identify the problem areas and outline the agenda for change.

The issues concerning regulatory reforms like structural changes, staffing and work priorities and techniques would also be discussed during the conference.