This work explores solutions for efficient large-scale pension administration, examining historical and current roles of pensions and their interaction with society amid a 21st-century crisis driven by demographic change and technological stagnation. Pensioners, governments, regulators, and administrators face growing challenges that risk deepening societal imbalances.

Through field research, single-/multi-country case studies, a practical example and expert insights, this work makes a compelling case for distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a scalable, efficient solution. It contrasts DLT with alternatives like cloud technology and draws on Socio-Technical and Structuration Theory to reveal broader societal and structural benefits. While promising, DLT's adoption is tempered by regulatory hurdles, its experimental nature, and institutional conservatism.