Pension funds have an obligation to keep pension promises to current and future retirees decades into the future.

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Ms McClarkin said there was a "lack of trust" in the current system and that there should be an obligation on member states to "pro-actively share information about professional qualifications".

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"In our judgment the Union has no obligation to accept Mr. Hunter's current contract as valid or enforceable, " the statement read.

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But in the current downturn, says the OECD, they may be the only way to salvage the ethos of mutual obligation that its member governments have tried so hard to instil over the past 15 years.

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