This chapter discusses the development of statutory first pillar pensions’ reforms within the fragmented European social policy regime. It provides a doctrinal analysis concerning the institutional and operational status of pension reforms, discussing the performance of national systems before and during the economic crisis. It also addresses issues about the critical dilemma between adequacy and sustainability in light of the sharp financial crisis that affects the European region, challenging the role of EU bodies and their impact on national pension schemes through institutional arrangements (community-binding law), new governance methods (the so-called social open method of coordination) and policy initiatives (as the 2010 Green Paper “Towards adequate sustainable and safe European pension systems” and the 2012 “European Year for active ageing and solidarity between generations”).