These countries have inherited their pension systems from the former USSR which they have to reconsider in terms of eligibility criteria, retirement ages, and the linkage between contribution rates and benefit payments in order to safeguard the financial sustainability of their pension systems. This balance is desirable as different segments of the population tend to benefit from different forms of social protection. This balance is lacking among low-income countries, where, spending per recipients of a social insurance benefits is very high at over 60% of GDP per capita.